JEFFERSON TWP. - After more than two years of near-wrecks and recommendations from state officials for safer conditions, trees on property owned by a township supervisor still keep retirees Frank and Joan Donnini from feeling safe when they drive home.
Like other residents in that part of the township, they want something done to make the intersection of Archbald Mountain Road and Mountain Road safer. As drivers on Archbald Mountain Road stop at the intersection, tree limbs hide oncoming traffic from Mountain Road.
Vehicles traveling on Archbald Mountain Road turning right onto Mountain Road aren't required to stop. However, vehicles continuing on Archbald Mountain Road must stop to check for traffic on Mountain Road, but they can't see the other road from the stop sign and have to inch farther up.
Gregory Kapeluck, whose house on Archbald Mountain Road overlooks the intersection, said he and his wife have seen multiple "near misses" at the intersection.
"Something has to change at that intersection or somebody will get hurt," Mr. Kapeluck said.
A close call
One of those incidents involved Mrs. Donnini. Driving home one day about two years ago, she found herself nearly sandwiched between a dump truck and a gravel truck at the intersection.
"I thought I was going to lose my life," she said during a recent interview. "I think I was missed by an inch."
After Mrs. Donnini's experience at the intersection, she contacted the property owner of the land with the trees to ask for help about the limited view. Paul Thomas, the property owner and a township supervisor, didn't seem interested in helping, Mrs. Donnini said.
"He told me, 'I'm not going to cut down my trees for anybody,'â" Mrs. Donnini said.
That's when she contacted Lester "Ike" Butler, chairman of the board of supervisors. He suggested contacting the state Department of Transportation's Dunmore office for help.
In August 2010, Keith D. Williams, PennDOT's district traffic engineer, and Robert M. Wasilchak, district traffic studies/safety engineer, sent a letter to the township recommending changes.
"It is the Department's position that the Township notifies the property owner about the traffic hazard and directs property owner to remove the section or vertically clear the portions of the tree branches that are limiting the corner sight distances," the letter said.
State law involved
The PennDOT letter also cited state law requiring property owners to remove any "tree, plant, shrub or other similar obstruction" considered a traffic hazard that limits the view of drivers. Failing to remove the traffic hazard within 10 days is a summary offense and subject to a fine of $10 a day.
More than two years after Jefferson Twp. officials received that letter, tree branches blocking the view of traffic from Mountain Road remain intact, and no fine has been issued.
Efforts to reach Mr. Thomas were unsuccessful.
Mr. Butler said Mr. Thomas filed an appeal a few months ago to the PennDOT recommendation, and the township is waiting for an answer on the appeal.
"Everyone has a right to appeal a decision," Mr. Butler said. "If something has to be done, the township will do it."
Contacted recently about the intersection, Mr. Wasilchak said the issue remains a safety concern and an "ongoing issue." He said since the obstruction occurs on a township road, PennDOT thinks the township should be responsible for enforcing the recommendation. He also mentioned Mr. Thomas' attempt to appeal the ruling.
"It's being reviewed now," Mr. Wasilchak said.
The board of supervisors meets tonight at 7:30.
Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com, @rwardTT on Twitter