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Chester County Press

Traffic study: Problem with speeding on Mount Vernon Street

08/21/2014 08:53AM ● By Acl

By Steven Hoffman

Staff Writer

A traffic study authorized by Oxford Borough confirmed what some residents have been saying at recent council meetings: Speeding is a problem on Mount Vernon Street, with motorists exceeding the posted limit of 35 miles per hour more often than they obeyed it.

“It’s not just that there is a perception of speeding on Mount Vernon—speeding is occurring on Mount Vernon,” said Oxford Borough Mayor Geoff Henry at Monday night’s council meeting.

Henry said that police officers have been very active in patrolling the area in response to residents in the neighborhood who expressed concerns about safety, especially for youngsters who might be playing or riding bikes on the street.

The traffic study was conducted from Thursday, July 24 to Wednesday, July 30, and a total of 14,507 vehicles traveled the street during that time.

Approximately 1,100 drivers were clocked going under 30 miles an hour. Another 3,128 were traveling at a speed between 31 and 35 miles per hour—that's 24 percent of all the vehicles that were monitored. 

The study revealed that a majority of the vehicles exceeded the speed limit by between one mile per hour and ten miles per hour. There were 4,800 vehicles going between 36 and 40 miles per hour, and another 3,555 vehicles were clocked traveling between 41 and 45 miles per hour. 

Motorists going between 46 and 50 miles per hour totaled 1,271, and 361 more were going between 51 and 55 miles per hour. There were 78 vehicles that were going between 56 and 60 miles per hour. Even more alarming are the 21 vehicles clocked at between 61 and 65 miles per hour, the eight vehicles going between 66 and 70, and the five motorists that were going faster than 70 miles per hour in the neighborhood.

The borough is boosting efforts to crack down on speeding motorists by bolstering the presence of police officers in the area.

“We understand that there is a problem,” Henry said. “We are serious and concerned about what’s happening. The fact that the officers are present should help. Our officers will be there as often as they can.”

Ultimately, Henry said, the borough could turn to a method of traffic calming, such as speed humps, to discourage motorists from exceeding the speed limit.