As a Narberth resident for over 12 years and a current business owner on Montgomery Avenue in Penn Valley, I am deeply concerned about how unsafe Montgomery Avenue has become for people walking, biking, and even driving. Despite being surrounded by highly walkable areas, Montgomery Avenue itself is often too dangerous and scary to drive on, much less to walk along.

This is a major problem. Montgomery Avenue is not just a roadway. It has businesses and bus stops and is a route that children take to get to and from school. Yet the street’s design tells us that we are not welcome here – and to walk at your own risk. Despite running a business here, I do not allow my own teenage children to cross Montgomery Avenue without letting me know because of how often cars have zoomed through red lights while we are literally walking in the crosswalk.

Additionally, this situation is directly affecting our local businesses. It reduces foot traffic and makes it difficult for customers to find and turn into driveways and parking lots safely. Slowing down traffic and improving walkability are the primary ways we can improve safety along this corridor and support our Montgomery Avenue businesses.

Now that Lower Merion Township and Narberth Borough are studying transportation along Montgomery Avenue, it is time to make our voices heard and demand change.

The Proposal:

Lower Merion’s transportation study must prioritize, first and foremost, the safety and comfort of people walking along Montgomery Avenue. 

Any plans for Montgomery Avenue must address the following issues:

1. Montgomery Avenue lacks adequate crossings for pedestrians – and the crossings that do exist are not visible enough. Furthermore, it takes far too long for pedestrian crossing signals to activate, encouraging people to cross before the signal protects them. The plan must help pedestrians safely and visibly cross the street at every intersection and at mid-block points between intersections (just like Lancaster Ave. in Ardmore and Bryn Mawr).

2. Traffic moves too fast on Montgomery Avenue. This endangers pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, and reduces ‘foot traffic’ for businesses. The plan must reduce speeding on Montgomery Avenue.

3. The sidewalks are barren and uninviting, which discourages walkability and encourages speeding. The plan must provide for improving the public space along the corridor, such as through greenscaping and verge buffers. Additionally, Lower Merion Township and Narberth Borough should make grants available to businesses to improve public-facing spaces along the sidewalk to encourage pedestrian activity and walkability.

4. Unprotected turns into driveways are incredibly dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. This only causes  more traffic flow problems. The plan must seriously evaluate and consider the possibility of converting Montgomery Avenue into three lanes, with the center lane as a dedicated turn lane. This will help slow traffic speeds for most of the day when the street is not congested. Even during rush hour, however, the presence of a dedicated turn lane would improve traffic flow, without the back-ups and near-misses caused by unprotected left-hand turns.

5. The corridor is incoherent and lacks any sense of place. The current zoning restricts appropriate signage to help people find their destinations without frustration and confusion. The plan must consider wayfinding and allow signage that accommodates the landscape. 

Let’s be clear: this corridor is ugly. It’s a concrete jungle with little greenery or aesthetic quality. It is so unattractive, drivers literally want to get through it as quickly as possible. It is designed as a highway through the middle of our community, not as a destination. But this is a very fixable problem!

We have been told that we cannot improve safety or walkability if it means that traffic might be a little bit slower during rush hour – let alone during the vast majority of the day when people treat Montgomery Avenue like a racetrack. But what is worth more to us: having a safe, walkable community, or making it convenient for cars to speed dangerously through our township?

We must decide as a community that our children, neighbors, and loved ones are the top priority. When cars are speeding so fast that they literally rattle the 7-ft. windows of my storefront, we know this has gotten dangerously out of hand and will only lead to tragedy.

Let’s prevent that tragedy before it happens.