Township Manager Carolyn McCreary said the Horsham and Stump intersection, located outside the administration building and police department, was one of several flagged by PennDOT
Drivers will soon be prohibited from making right turns on red at the busy intersection of Horsham Road and Stump Road following a unanimous vote Monday night by the Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors.
Supervisors adopted an ordinance amending the township’s existing traffic code to bar right turns on red for vehicles traveling both eastbound and westbound on Horsham Road (Route 463) when turning onto Stump Road. The change was recommended by PennDOT as part of a broader review of traffic safety at the intersection.
Police Chief Bill Peoples told supervisors the intersection has seen a significant number of crashes, noting the location is also currently in the warning phase for newly installed red-light enforcement cameras.
Early violation numbers
The automated red-light cameras at the intersection went live Jan. 19. For the first 30 days, violators receive written warnings instead of citations.
Peoples said early data shows a high number of violations.
“We started Jan. 19 and the numbers we have from Jan. 19 to Jan. 28, which is all processed, we’ve had a total of 182 violations just at the intersection,” he said. “And again we are currently 22 days into the warning process, which is 30 days.”
After the warning period ends, drivers who run the red light or make a prohibited right on red could receive a civil citation in the mail.
Signs already posted
During public comment, resident Tom Lozardo questioned why the township needed to adopt the ordinance when “No Turn On Red” signs were already in place.
Peoples confirmed the signage had been installed by PennDOT in advance, but enforcement could not begin until the township formally updated its ordinance.
“PennDOT did put the lights or the signs up, but we are still in a no violation stage. So it’s the purpose of getting the ordinance done before we actually start going live with it. No officers are writing any tickets for that either right now," People said.
The new restriction will apply 24 hours a day, he said.
PennDOT recommended multiple locations
Township Manager Carolyn McCreary said the Horsham and Stump intersection, located outside the administration building and police department, was one of several flagged by PennDOT.
“We had asked them for two intersections in our initial letter to them, and they came back with seven recommended intersections based on the number of accidents and the volume of traffic going through them,” McCreary said. “But we did the first two and then wanted to wait and see how that went, and now we’re doing this one, and then we’re going to put a pause on it before we go any further.”
No profit for township, officials stress
Lozardo raised questions about whether the township profits from red-light camera enforcement.
“We do not,” Peoples said. “The whole thing is funded by the price of it. It helps our officers that have to use their own time. It pays for them to review everything. And at the end of the day, there’s no cost at all to the township.”
McCreary added that state law prevents municipalities from generating revenue beyond their actual costs.
“It’s revenue neutral for us,” she said. “We’re allowed to cover our cost. So we cover the cost of the officer who reviews the files, and we cover the cost of the hearing examiner for anybody who doesn’t appeal.”
Any surplus funds go to PennDOT, which uses them to fund traffic safety grants across the state, Peoples said.
Supervisors Vice Chair Beth Staab emphasized the goal is safety, not punishment.
“The reason we’re doing this is not to just penalize and put out traps,” Staab said. “It’s actually because we’re trying to reduce high velocity traffic accidents, which is happening, and that’s what has been identified by PennDOT and by our officers here. And we’re hoping to be collecting that data to be able to show that having these preventative measures will actually make it safer to drive through Montgomery Township. That’s the goal.”
The ordinance passed 5-0. Enforcement of the right-turn prohibition is expected to begin after the 30-day warning period for the red-light cameras concludes.
The Horsham and Stump roads intersection is now one of three in Montgomery Township equipped with automated red-light enforcement, joining Route 202 at Horsham Road and Bethlehem Pike at North Wales Road.
