By Nancy Johnson

Correspondent

"It's been a long delay, but we officially opened the [Sunnyside Road] bridge today," announced Penn Township Board of Supervisors chairman Curtis Mason at the June 5 meeting.

The opening, complete with ribbon cutting and official first crossings by West Grove Fire Company ambulance and fire trucks, was just two hours before Penn's scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor Victor Mantegna said, "The delay was not the fault of Penn Township."

For 10 years, Sunnyside Road was divided due to the lack of a bridge. Once it was clear that the bridge would be rebuilt, a number of residents expressed their concerns that the road would become "a speedway."

"There are already reports of a lot of cars speeding across the bridge," Mason noted. "Some are going as fast as 60 miles an hour."

Mason said the township is planning to install four humps - two on each side approaching the bridge - as a deterrent to speeding. "We will be using Seminole County speed humps," added supervisor Bill Finnen. "PennDOT approves them because they are the safest."

"If you are doing the speed limit, you will barely notice them; if you are speeding, they will rip the bottom of your car out," Mantegna said with a grin.

Mason explained that now that the bridge is complete, Penn Township should receive 80 percent of the total cost (including design) of the bridge back from the state through the retro-reimbursement plan specifically for high-priority transportation projects. The total figure is approximately $1,100,000.

Another regular agenda item, though not nearly as longstanding as the bridge, "No Peddling or Soliciting" signage, reached a milestone. Mason displayed a sign, one of 20 that were made for the township, that clearly explains the ordinance prohibiting peddling or soliciting without a permit issued by the township.

Mason has spoken with the various homeowners' associations in Penn Township and made them aware of the correct wording so they can have similar signs made for their communities.

In other business, Skip McGrew reported for the Planning Commission that through an outreach visit, Glen Bentley, a Chester County Planning commissioner who resides in the West Grove area, has offered to sit in on Penn Township's Planning Commission meetings and offer suggestions. McGrew said they were happy to take him up on his offer.

Due to the Fourth of July holiday, the July Board of Supervisors meeting will be moved to July 10 at 6 p.m. A conditional use hearing is scheduled for the Giant fueling facility on June 12 at 6 p.m., and the Planning Commission is to meet on June 26 at 7:30 p.m.