Credit: Joshua Hoehne / Unsplash.com
The recommended change would alter the 25 mph zone to a 35 mph one.
Local police forces often use the common phrase of “See Something, Say Something,” and the residents of Upper Moreland Township have done just that. With multiple citizens reporting concern over the speeds of drivers on Horsham Road, the Upper Moreland Township Police Department had to do something.
That “something” was a study of Horsham Road by the department’s Traffic Safety Unit. In response to multiple complaints from township residents, the department compiled the results and released them to the public earlier this month.
The study began in August 2024, after residents reached out about excessive speeding in the area. The section of Horsham Road, specifically between York Road and Blair Mill Road, is a county road. As an “arterial roadway” the speed limit is restricted to 25 miles per hour (mph). The road, which is set in an east/west direction, consists of just two lanes there, and the lanes are separated by a double yellow line.
The road is considered arterial as it connects two major state roads, between Hatboro Borough and Horsham Township.
“There is only a small area that contains a sidewalk on the south side of the street near Blair Mill Road,” said the study. “The majority of the roadway has a soft berm.”
To conduct its study, the Traffic Safety Unit utilized speed and volume counters, which were placed on the 2500 block of Horsham Road. Coupled with historical data from 2017 to 2022, the unit compiled its findings, releasing the data on Oct. 11, 2024.
According to the Unit’s findings, the department aimed to establish the best and most appropriate level of response for the issue, as it is a public safety concern. The data showed that the speed of vehicles using this portion of Horsham Road indicated that 41.88% of drivers met a “threshold for enforcement,” meaning they could have been pulled over and cited for speeding.
The 85th percentile, the report showed, for speed of vehicles in the section of roadway studied was 38.12 mph. During the studied time, 16,409 vehicles used the section of roadway.
“At this time, speeding is considered an issue on this section of Horsham Road,” concluded the Unit’s review. “The average speed is 32.02 mph. The speed limit is set at 25 mph, however the data suggests raising the speed limit to 35 mph.”
As the department’s data showed that the 85th percentile was traveling at 38.12 mph, having the speed limit raised to 35 mph would mean an enforcement threshold of 45 mph. At that point, only 2.44% of drivers would meet a threshold for enforcement (i.e. could be ticketed).
According to the report, a look back at crash data from Oct. 21, 2017, through Oct. 20, 2022, revealed that the area had seen a total of 23 crashes along Horsham Road between Castello and Blair Mill roads. None of those crashes included speed as a contributing factor, but rather, the report said, crashes were most often caused by “motorists turning onto or off Horsham Road.”
At this time, the department has selected to respond to the concerns, thanks to the data collected, by conducting “selective enforcement” along Horsham Road.
“It is the recommendation from the Upper Moreland Traffic Study Unit to raise the speed limit to 35 mph,” said the report’s final “Response” section. “If that is not an option, we will continue to monitor the traffic along Horsham Road as in the past.”
According to the Montgomery County website, municipalities are responsible for the community’s traffic signals. Factors such as signal timing, signs, and pavement markings at signalized intersections are to be directed to a local municipality, even on a county-owned road.
The county is responsible for maintaining 131 bridges and over 75 miles of roads throughout its boundaries. The county has the second largest number of roads in Pennsylvania, but Montco only maintains the 75 miles itself, while the remainder are split between the state of Pennsylvania (40% or around 43,000 miles of road) and local agencies/municipalities (60% or around 75,000 miles).
The county’s site clearly states that it is up to the municipality to maintain signs such as road names, stop signs, and speed limit signs. However, it is up to the state in agreement and with the approval of a municipality to change a speed limit rate.
State law sets the parameters for speed limits, such as its increments, sight lines, and citation regulations. An engineering or traffic study, much like the Upper Moreland example here, is often required to change a set speed limit. The state requires that the set speed limit be within 5 mph of the average 85th percentile (noted above) speed or the “safe running speed on the section of highway.”
Should the township seek to up the speed limit, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will likely need to review its findings and determine whether or not the limit can be changed.
Anyone with additional traffic-related questions or concerns can direct information or questions to the Traffic Safety Unit via email at [email protected].
