NLCRPD Traffic Studies - October 2022

Overview

Since September 2021, the borough's contracted police agency has conducted four traffic enforcement studies in areas with reported speeding issues. You can read the police department's original post here. The locations of the studies included:

• Lemon Street & New Street

• 5900 block Lemon Street (which is the same as Lemon St. & New St. it appears)

• 6800 Main Street

• 2524 Miller Road

The police take the 85th percentile speed (the speed at which 85% of vehicles are traveling at or below) along with the average vehicle count per day to determine a weighted score. This score helps to identify how many traffic operations (such as speed enforcement) should be conducted per year as a part of speed deterrence.

5900 Lemon Street

This traffic study was conducted September 21 - October 05, 2021, in response to a citizen complaint of speeding. Hempfield School District was open during this time period.

During the 15-day study, an average of 6,742 vehicles were counted daily (total of 101,126). Peak travel times were between 7am - 9am and 3pm - 5pm. This study took place just north of the local elementary school.

The highest speed recorded was 84mph, occurring on a Saturday at 12:52pm. The 85th percentile speed was 39mph, which is 14mph above the 25mph speed limit. As a result, the study has recommended 1-3 police operations per year.

Lemon Street & New Street

This traffic study was conducted May 25 - June 10, 2022, in response to a citizen complaint of speeding. This appears to be the same location as the study above. The last day of student attendance was May 27th, so 18 days of this 20-day study should not have had as much traffic. An average of 1,382 vehicles were counted daily for a total of 27,637 vehicles.

Peak travel times were between 7am - 8am, 11am - 12pm, and 4pm - 5pm. The highest speed recorded was 66mph. The 85th percentile speed was 39mph, which is 14mph above the 25mph speed limit. As a result, the study has recommended 1-3 police operations per year.

There appears to be a significant shift in the number of vehicles when school is in-session vs. not in-session. By my count, this area of Lemon Street experiences an average increase of 5,360 vehicles daily when school is in-session!

6800 Main Street

This traffic study was conducted April 19 - May 2, 2022, in response to a citizen complaint of speeding. According to mapping software, this location appears to be just north of the Graystone Road & Route 72 intersection (in the 45mph zone). During the 14-day study, an average of 12,859 vehicles were counted daily (total of 180,024). Peak travel times were between 7am - 8am and 4pm - 5pm.

The highest speed recorded was 96mph, occurring on a Tuesday at 9pm. The 85th percentile speed was 47mph, which is 2mph above the 45mph speed limit. As a result, the study has recommended 1-3 police operations per year.

2524 Miller Road

This traffic study was conducted July 27 - August 10, 2022, in response to a citizen complaint of speeding. An average of 2,268 vehicles were counted daily for a total of 48,090 vehicles during the 21-day period.

Peak travel times were between 8am - 10am, 12pm - 1pm, and 4pm - 5pm. The highest speed recorded was 75mph. The 85th percentile speed was 32mph, which is 7mph above the 25mph speed limit. As a result, the study has recommended 1-3 police operations per year.

From a resident's firsthand perspective, I can view this area from my backyard and question that the majority of vehicles are below 32mph. The location listed by the police show that the study occurred in the immediate area of a speed hump. We will attempt to confirm the true location of the speed recording equipment to see its proximity to the speed hump.