Committee Information
Introducing the Borough’s Public Safety and Streets Committee
Do you have a problem with speeding on your street, or have you identified a safety issue in the borough? The borough has an effective process in place to review, make decisions and hopefully solve problems as they are identified.
In 2018, when Councilman Craig Farr took over as head of the borough’s Public Safety and Streets Committee, he invited key local decision-makers to meet monthly with residents to review and work together as a team to solve problems.
In addition to Craig, sitting on the committee are Councilmembers Gary Hoffmann, Marion McKinney, and Kathy Costello; Mayor Aidsand Wright-Riggins; Bart Bucher, our Police Chief, Brian Kuklinski and Craig Penuel, our Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief, our Ambulance Executive Director, and Gabrielle Wright, Ursinus College Executive Director of Safety and Emergency Preparedness
The Committee meets at Borough Hall on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 6 pm. If residents can’t make the meeting, there is a Zoom option. Residents will find the monthly agenda and Zoom link on the Collegeville Borough website calendar.
Procedure for Reporting Street and Safety Issues
If you have a question, concern or complaint related to our borough’s streets and/or safety in the borough, the first thing you should do is contact Suzanne Robertson at the Borough Office. Email Suzanne at info@borough.collegeville-pa.gov or telephone her 610 489 9208. Some problems, such as burned-out street lights, can be reported for repair immediately.
All issues identified by residents are logged into our follow-up system and then acted upon. If the issue is complicated and/or concerns unbudgeted expenses, it is then sent for discussion to the Streets and Public Safety Committee. The committee uses an open discussion format to provide information, clarify details, review the issue in depth, and brainstorm with residents and each other to better understand and move the issue toward resolution.
Some Results of the Work of the Streets and Public Safety Committee
Mitigating Speeding—Working with our Police Department, the Borough has conducted speed studies on many of our roads–often at a number of different locations– including Park Ave., where we installed the speed pillows. We have also conducted studies Clahor Dr., 5th, 6th, 8th, and E. 9th Avenues. Frequently the data show that traffic wasn’t moving as fast as residents thought it was and that it was within our lawful enforcement limits. These studies are available for all residents to review and can be e-mailed upon request.
Safety at the Collegeville Crossing Entrance– The state roads that run through the Borough, which are Rt. 29/2nd Ave and Main Street/Ridge Pike, are owned and maintained by PennDOT. Traffic signals, speed limits and any safety upgrades are determined by PennDOT engineers. To advocate for changes, the Borough petitions PennDOT, and they will only make the changes if they believe that the data warrants it. Once installed, the borough is responsible for maintenance of signage and traffic and cross walk signals.
Speeding and red-light infractions are an ongoing concern at the Collegeville Crossing entrance at the intersection of 2nd Ave. and Freeland Dr. When Wawa was built, PennDOT changed the intersection to allow two through northbound lanes (they removed the right turn only into Collegeville Crossing). Numerous requests from the Borough for changes have been sent to PennDOT over the years. Crossing residents had requested a left-turn arrow from the southbound lanes, but a Borough traffic count study–using PennDOT criteria–showed the volume of turns was too low to justify the left-turn arrow. PennDOT also denied our request to return the northbound right lane to a right turn only lane. They did agree to add a new signal head for the northbound right lane, and the borough installed yellow reflective borders around all the lights at the intersection. The borough also installed a permanent speed indicator on the northbound side of 2nd Ave.
Ensuring Home Safety–To improve residential safety, last year the Council passed ordinances requiring yearly safety inspections for rental properties and a safety inspection when homes are listed for sale.
Sidewalk and Curb Repair–In order to improve the safety of our borough sidewalks, we have updated our sidewalk and curb ordinance with descriptions of conditions requiring repair, based mainly on pedestrian safety considerations. Replacing sidewalks is expensive and is the responsibility of the business or homeowner. The Borough is aware of the cost, and we are looking into a plan to reduce this financial burden before we begin enforcing this ordinance, perhaps through grants and low interest loans.
Master Plan to Resurface the Borough Roadways–In order to more accurately determine which borough roadways to resurface each year, in 2020 our Borough Engineer surveyed the short- and long-term conditions of each of our borough streets. We now follow a15-year maintenance plan based on roadway condition and usage. The assessment is updated on a regular basis to reflect any changing conditions.
Repair and Replacement of our Street Drains is also scheduled on a yearly rotating basis. It is important that our older drains be clean of debris and functional to prevent flooded streets. We replace and repair a minimum of 10 drains each year.
Clean Out and Repair of Retention Basins–We are currently working with residents on the upper portion of Clahor Ave to develop a plan to replace drain grates and clean up/repair a 50-year-old retention basin that had no previous maintenance. The project will begin this spring and will be followed up with additional work, if necessary, to provide efficient street drainage.
Street Maintenance
Main Street; Route 29 North (First Avenue); Route 29 South (Second Avenue); are maintained by the PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT). All other dedicated roads are maintained by Collegeville Borough.
Snow Plowing
Snow plowing and deicing is performed by Collegeville Borough. Borough Public Works employees and hired contractors plow snow and spread salt on borough owned roads.
Snow Emergency Routes are established in Collegeville Borough. In the event a Snow Emergency is declared in Collegeville Borough vehicles cannot be parked on the following designated routes; Clahor Ave., W. 8th Ave., E. 5th Ave., W. 5th Ave., 1st Ave., E. Main St., E. 9th Ave., Park Ave. & 2nd Ave.
Mailboxes
If a Collegeville Borough plow hits a mailbox during snow removal, we will reimburse the resident upon verification. If snow damages the mailbox, we do not reimburse. Mailboxes are installed at your own risk within the right-of-way. To be sure your mailbox is installed correctly, please see here for USPS mailbox guidelines.
If your mailbox is struck by a Borough vehicle, please complete the Damaged Mailbox Reimbursement Request Form within two weeks of incident.
