Cars pass a “Sidewalk closed” sign and new sidewalks and drainage upgrades on Main Street east of Line Street in Lansdale in Oct. 2024. Photo by Dan Sokil | The Reporter.
Road code, transit survey on to-do list for 2025
A long-discussed infrastructure project that’s been in the works for nearly a decade is almost complete.
Council members gave an update on Lansdale’s East Main streetscape project in December, saying that sidewalk project was down to the final few items.
“If you go down Main Street, it looks really nice: the sidewalks. The only thing we need to do is contact PennDOT and get the road paved,” said councilman Rich DiGregorio.
Work started in July 2024 on a project had been in the works since 2014, when the town secured roughly $3 million in grant funding for the project after finishing two similar projects that upgraded utilities and replaced old sidewalks with new brick and pavers on downtown Main, Broad and Madison Streets in 2011-12, then along Wood and Vine Streets in 2013-14. After delays throughout 2022 and early ’23, a contract for the project was awarded in April 2024, and residents noted the removal of several trees along the route after work began, as town officials said in October that dry weather had allowed work to advance ahead of the original schedule that called for the project to run into spring 2025.
As of early December, DiGregorio told council the contractor was working on final punch list items and had a final walk-through on the project slated for mid-December. Next steps would include paving of Main Street itself, a process up to PennDOT, the councilman said, and borough staff may look into contacting local legislators to prod PennDOT if needed.
“It looks great, and if we get that road done, it’ll be like icing on the cake. Hopefully we get that done in the near future,” he said.
On the to-do list for 2025, he added, the public works committee will resume talks on a road degradation ordinance that had been discussed in prior years, which could set a fee or charge for utility companies that do work on underground utility lines and cause damage to recently paved roadways.
Public works post open again
The new year appears to have brought another personnel change in Lansdale.
Borough officials posted a notice seeking a new Public Works director, seeing to refill a position less than a year after the last search.
“The Borough of Lansdale has an opening for an experienced individual to lead its Public Works Department as Director,” said the borough in the announcement, sent via e-newsletter on Jan. 3 and posted on social media on Jan. 7.
Lansdale has seen plenty of turnover among department heads over the past year, after the departure of a library director and finance director in April 2024, then the arrival of Troy Spayd in May to fill the director of public works post that had been vacant since the start of that year. All three posts were filled by the end of the year, as borough officials cited that staff turnover as a reason for delays in talks on the town’s budget for 2025.
“The Director is responsible for management of all areas of the Department including planning, scheduling, and coordinating major projects, repair and upgrade of streets, storm and sanitary sewer systems, and other Borough properties as well as supporting Borough functions and community events, coordinating work and assisting other departments, preparing and monitoring $1.5 million budget and Capital Plan,” says the job description posted by the borough.
Settlement agreement approved
During their Dec. 4 meeting, council held a rare vote on an action item, approving a settlement on a long-running disputed property.
“I move that borough council approve the attached settlement stipulation… that resolves various sewer and electric lien litigation for the property located at 400 Pierce Street,” said councilwoman Carrie Oglesby.
According to court records and MediaNews Group archives, the owner of 400 Pierce Street has been involved in litigation with the borough since the early 2010s, in which the borough claimed the owner was delinquent on utility bills, and the owner alleged they were unable to rent or occupy the property because the borough had shut off utilities including power and electricity.
No details on the settlement were given during the Dec. 4 meeting, and no public comments were made. Council president Mary Fuller announced an executive session had been held to discuss that item prior to the meeting, then asked town solicitor Patrick Hitchens if he had anything to add beyond the formal motion, and the attorney said he did not, “other than I appreciate council’s consideration of this settlement agreement, and I would recommend that council approve it.” The group then did so unanimously, with no further discussion.
Survey says
Lansdale is also looking for feedback on another topic to tackle in 2025: a survey is now open for residents to give input into the town’s active transportation plan.
“The plan is meant to deliver a safe, high-quality, connected network of trails, sidewalks, bikeways and streets for people who walk, roll, bike, skate or scoot and connect to key places within Lansdale,” said the borough in a post on Jan. 10.
The online survey asks for input on how residents get around town, what modes of transit they use, where they go, what type of improvements they’d like to see, the traffic they see on their street, and for any other input or feedback on trails, bike lanes, crosswalks, traffic calming tactics and more. Throughout 2024 borough staff and residents held lengthy talks on traffic, bike and pedestrian safety throughout town, culminating in the presentation of a detailed traffic study in October, while residents continued to advocate for bike lanes, repair stations, bike storage racks, and other safety improvements throughout the town.
Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15 and the various council committees next meet starting at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, all at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine Street. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org.
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