A game that has taken the U.S. by storm in recent years could be coming to Fountain Hill, along with pedestrian safety measures–if a traffic study is conducted and determines they are needed in the area of the Fountain Hill Park and Playground on Stanley Avenue.
Councilwoman and recreation committee chair Jamie Johnson said Monday that the borough is responding to popular demand by applying for a grant that would pay for the pickleball court to be built where the park’s sand volleyball court is located now.
Johnson joked that the sand-filled court is somewhat analogous to a large cat litter box.
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The court is seldom used and the repurposed space would benefit more borough residents, since pickleball is a game which many older adults enjoy, she noted.
In other business at the Aug. 7 council meeting, council discussed potentially budgeting money for a traffic study on Stanley Avenue in the area of the park complex.
The discussion began after borough resident Connor Moriarty said speeding motorists pose a threat to children’s safety in his neighborhood, which is adjacent to the park.
Councilman Will Rufe brought up the fact that there is no stop sign for traffic on N. Lynn Street at Stanley Avenue, at the southeast corner of the playground.
Rufe said he would support a study that examined traffic at that intersection, and other council members were also supportive of the idea.
Resident Anne-Marie Lee encouraged council to look at signs that advertise the potential fine motorists could receive for slowly driving through stop signs, which is often called a “rolling stop.”
She said those signs seem to be effective at slowing traffic in nearby Hanover Township, Northampton County.
She also asked if speed humps could be installed, however council has said previously that it doesn’t believe it has the legal authority to install them on public streets in the borough.
A similar request made recently was also shot down, although council told the resident who brought a petition requesting speed humps before them that it would consider installing “Children at Play” signs along the narrow alley he said is being used by speeding motorists on their way to and from the nearby elementary school.
Fountain Hill Police Chief Ed Bachert said his department is aggressively enforcing traffic safety and the borough’s parking ordinance by issuing a copious amount of tickets as it is.
Blatt asked if the department could make the area around the park and playground the subject of special attention by officers.
