Somerton does U-turn
on Woodhaven Road plan

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The long-debated Woodhaven Expressway extension hit another roadblock last week as leaders of a local residents group voiced strong opposition to the latest construction proposal by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Speaking at the monthly general meeting of the Somerton Civic Association on March 11, SCA president Mary Jane Hazell and other civic board members panned PennDOT’s Community Connections plan, which features a parkway-style road connecting the existing Woodhaven terminus near Evans Street with Bustleton Avenue.
"I’ll be honest with you. It was the worst set of plans I’ve seen," Hazell said. "All they’re going to do is break up our Somerton area."
The SCA for years has formally supported a Woodhaven extension that would take the road west of Bustleton Avenue and through the Westwood residential section along a right of way acquired by PennDOT for the project decades ago. Such a project would relieve gridlock on Byberry Road and other local streets by giving through traffic a faster east-west route, they believe.
Members of the association and other residents saw the latest plans for the first time during a pair of public workshops hosted by PennDOT on March 4 and 6. Additional meetings were held March 11 and 13.
Though the civic group did not vote last week to reject or support the latest proposal, Hazell offered several major criticisms.
She argued that ending the new road at Bustleton Avenue would bring more traffic to a route already burdened by daily gridlock. As a result, local businesses would suffer, Hazell said.
Meanwhile, linking cross streets including Worthington Road directly to the Woodhaven extension would allow more cars to filter onto local streets like Southampton Road, causing new problems for residents there.
"Anybody who lives near Southampton Road, it’s going to bombard them," Hazell said.
The civic president also doesn’t want PennDOT to replace the Byberry Road bridge that spans CSX rail tracks just west of Evans Street because the bridge is off-limits to most trucks and local children use it every day to get to MaST Community Charter School, Hazell said.
The replacement bridge would not have a weight limit and would carry vehicles, including trucks, directly from the Woodhaven Expressway into the proposed extension.
Byberry Road would end in cul-de-sacs on both sides of the CSX tracks, so school kids would likely end up with a circuitous route from their homes to the MaST campus.
Project officials have said that the old bridge will be replaced regardless of any new road construction, although they are aware of the community’s opposition to truck traffic and will attempt to mitigate the problem.
Hazell, fellow board member Pat Cantwell and a new SCA member identifying himself as Michael Smith all urged residents to keep a united front on the Woodhaven Road issue and to fight for what they want.
In zoning issues, the civic group decided that it doesn’t want a new check cashing shop at Bustleton Avenue and Byberry Road, while it doesn’t mind if a local dentist expands his Bustleton Avenue practice.
The check cashing business would open in a strip mall on the southeast corner of the busy Bustleton and Byberry intersection. Under the city zoning code, such a use is subject to restriction regardless of the zoning designation of the site.
Residents argued that there is insufficient parking in the strip mall to support the business. Capt. Joe Zaffino, commander of the 7th Police District, noted that check cashing businesses are popular targets for robbers hoping to score large sums of money.
A man identifying himself as the landlord said that parking is an issue for the business and its customers, not the neighbors.
Dominic Ragucci, SCA zoning chairman, said that the check cashing shop would be the second restricted use in the same strip mall after an adult video store.
Civic group members voted unanimously to oppose the check cashing business as it seeks a permit from the zoning board.
Later, residents voted 20-10 not to oppose a dentist’s request to install five dental chairs in the split-level basement of his office at Red Lion Road and Bustleton Avenue. He already has 10 chairs on the main floor of the facility, served by four full-time dentists and several visiting specialists.
The next Somerton Civic Association meeting will be on Tuesday, April 8, at 7:15 p.m., at Walker Lodge 306, 1290 Southampton Road. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com