Somerton gearing up for
Memorial Day Parade

The Somerton Civic Association last week announced the selection of Philadelphia Police Capt. Joseph Zaffino as grand marshal of the civic group’s annual Memorial Day Parade, scheduled for Monday.
The parade will step off at noon in front of George Washington High School, 10175 Bustleton Ave. The route will proceed north to Trevose Road, turn right and conclude with the laying of wreaths at Somerton United Methodist Church.
Three wreaths will memorialize fallen veterans of military conflicts spanning from the Civil War to the Iraq War. A fourth wreath, which Zaffino will place personally, will memorialize those police officers and firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty, said Mary Jane Hazell, president of the civic group.
Zaffino is commander of the 7th Police District in the Far Northeast.
In other business at the May 13 civic meeting, the SCA agreed not to oppose a zoning application by a mobile telephone service provider to erect an installation of antennas behind an apartment building on Philmont Avenue, just east of Bustleton Avenue.
Local residents required one proviso, however. They insisted that the phone service, T-Mobile, not apply for any more installations in Somerton, Hazell said.
Many neighbors view the installations as detrimental to the area aesthetically. Some are concerned about a negative impact on property values, along with possible public health issues.
Somerton residents working independently from the SCA reported that they had collected 500 signatures on a petition to oppose the latest version of the Woodhaven Road Project presented to them in March by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Under the plan, the state agency would extend the existing Woodhaven Road Expressway westward as far as Bustleton Avenue with a new parkway-style road.
Opponents have claimed that the plan would cut off Byberry Road residents from the local charter high school, MaST, and would hurt Bustleton Avenue businesses by worsening traffic snafus on that state route.
Meanwhile, critics have said, the project might redistribute traffic, but it’s unlikely to relieve volume on the overburdened local road system.
The next Somerton Civic Association meeting will be on Tuesday, June 10, at 7:15 p.m. at Walker Lodge 306, 1290 Southampton Road. ••