Photo by Tony Di Domizio.
A minivan hit a Toyota at the intersection around 11 a.m. in Lansdale's West Ward.
Another week, another accident in the West Ward.
While that sentence may be hyperbole to some, it has almost become a way of life for neighbors along Cannon Avenue and its arterial routes. The accident – without injuries – that occurred Monday morning at S. Towamencin and Delaware avenues was the third one that shut down a roadway, albeit briefly, in a span of eight days.
West Ward neighbors, as well as residents as far as Norway Drive by Montgomery Mall, are expected to pack Lansdale Borough Hall Wednesday night when Lansdale Police and Lansdale traffic engineer Earl Armitage of Traffic Planning and Design present a full traffic study to the public for discussion. Per The Reporter, the troublesome route used by commuters as a shortcut around trains and traffic consists of Norway, Sycamore and Lombardy Drives, Laurel Lane, Hancock Street and Delaware, Derstine and Columbia avenues.
By Tony Di Domizio Monday's accident occurred around 11 a.m., on Delaware Avenue, when a red Toyota was hit by a maroon Honda Odyssey minivan. The driver of the Toyota said she was driving on Delaware Avenue away from Richardson Avenue. The older male driver of the minivan was stopped at Towamencin, she said. When she crossed at S. Towamencin Avenue, the driver did not yield to her, accelerated through the intersection and hit her car, she said.
After the accident occurred, Lansdale Police officers made the striking vehicle move out of the intersection; the older driver nearly hit an officer backing up against the curb on Towamencin Avenue and was told repeatedly to stop the van.
By Tony Di Domizio The minivan was able to be driven from the scene. The Toyota sustained moderate front-end driver’s side damage and was towed from the scene.The scene was cleared by 11:45 a.m.
At two prior accidents in the West Ward neighborhood, residents who live at or near the dangerous intersections said, on average, they see up to 10 accidents a year outside their windows.
While the fervor of residents, as of late, is becoming evident, senseless speeders and confused commuters are not new to the neighborhood.
Ironically, the father of the woman involved in Monday’s accident, who wished to remain anonymous, lives right up the street. He said there was a time, years ago, where ballasts were necessary for his front and side yard – for defense against errant vehicles.
“We had an accident, when she was a girl, where the car crashed right into our yard,” he said. “It cut the stop sign off its base, and right into the hedges, and into our front yard.”
