Most, if not all, of the stop signs on Jenkintown streets not owned by PennDOT are unauthorized. How do I know? Here’s the story.
In 2017, the Jenkintown Police stopped me for running a stop sign at Jenkintown and Myrtle. As I always do, I contested the violation. I learned from a report in the Boston Globe back in the 1990s that a town in Massachusetts illegally erected stop signs around the town as a traffic calming measure.
State law there says, as it does here, that the purpose of a stop is to determine right of way and cannot be used for traffic calming. To get a sign installed on any public road in Pennsylvania, the state must first perform a traffic study to determine the need.
Thanks to a right-to-know request I filed with PennDOT and with the Borough, I discovered that one didn’t and still does not exist for Runnymede and Myrtle.
As luck would have it, the JPD opted to forgive the ticket, so I did not have to present my evidence before the judge. The process made me wonder about the rest of the borough.
The attached map shows all the intersections subjected to a right to know request with PennDOT so far. Those with a red circle have no traffic studies filed. As a control, I also filed a RTK for Walnut and Hillside because Walnut is a state road, and PennDOT has a study on file.
In PennDot’s response, they wrote in part:
“PennDOT personnel have diligently searched the appropriate files and we do not have in this agency’s possession, custody or control any records responsive to [the] portions of your request.”
No records exists with the Borough either.
So, if you’ve wondered why you don’t see these intersections regularly enforced as cars speed through them, they cannot enforce a law that does not exist (or at least they know that now). It stands to reason that this also calls into question the tickets issued, the fines received, and the insurance points levied.
While we can’t blame the current council for this, we can wonder what they might do about it. They and the chief have been so busy spreading ParkMobile everywhere that this hardly seems a priority for them.
If you or someone you know does get a ticket for running a stop sign, share this post with them. And if you ever get a ticket for running a stop sign on any public road, check to make sure it’s legal. Jenkintown is not the only municipality that does this.
If you want to see a stop sign on your street, notify your council member and suggest that they petition PennDOT to conduct a traffic study to see if the intersection warrants one. If not, then Council must decide on an alternative legal method for traffic calming. Over 15 years ago, council considered such a plan. Dust it off and get it done.
Tell your government to follow the rules. The rest of us have to.
Intersections cited on this map:
Walnut Street and Hillside Avenue
Runnymede Avenue and Elm Avenue
Rodman Avenue and Florence Avenue
101 West Avenue
Florence Avenue and West Avenue
Florence Avenue and Greenwood Avenue
Rodman Avenue and Myrtle Avenue
Hillside Avenue and Highland Avenue
Highland Avenue and West Avenue
Greenwood Avenue and Florence Avenue
Greenwood Avenue and Highland Avenue
Summit Avenue and Highland Avenue
Wyncote Avenue and Highland Avenue
Wyncote Avenue and Mather Avenue