Township finalizing Old York Road study

Township finalizing Old York Road study
Published: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Source - Montgomery News

By Kaitlyn Foti
Staff Writer

Abington is working on a facelift for the Old York Road corridor that could have a lasting impact on the rest of the township.

The township public affairs committee will be making a presentation at its Wednesday night meeting on the finalized Abington Township Old York Road Corridor Improvement Study.

The study, which has been going on for about a year, received half of its funding by a grant from the state. The other half was paid for by the township. Along with possibilities for better pedestrian walkways and creating more green space, the study details possible areas for planned redevelopment along the Abington section of the 611 corridor.

“As a township, we are 98 percent developed. We have to look at redeveloping and retrofitting our commercial districts to make them more viable. We’re trying to optimize what is already here,” said Township Manager Tom Conway.

According to Commissioner Steven Kline, chairman of the committee currently rewriting the comprehensive zoning plan, the focus for future redevelopment is mixed-use zoning. This would allow commercial districts to include residential housing.

“There’s a positive affect if you combine these things. When you have them in two separate places, it adds traffic as people drive from the residential areas to the commercial districts. We could reduce traffic, or at least not create additional traffic, with the combined use of these areas,” Kline said.

The improvement study homes in on four nodes — commercial areas that are viable for redevelopment— along Old York Road. The most prominent area for possible redevelopment is The Fairway. The commercial district surrounding Noble train station embodies the hopes of township officials to revitalize areas, simultaneously adding viability and green space.

Along The Fairway, there are plans for the age-restricted community Rydal Park to add independent cottages, with green trails leading to the stores, businesses and Noble Station. Kline’s committee is considering zoning adjustments that would aid developers in making additional age-restricted housing above and around this and other commercial districts.

“One of the biggest population shifts in the last census is the 55 and older age group. That demographic has dropped the greatest amount because there are not a lot of options for downsizing, to live somewhere that doesn’t need as much upkeep,” Kline said.Other areas that have been noted as priorities in the illustrative plans in the corridor improvement study include London Center, where the Target and Giant are currently located, and the intersection of Susquehanna and Old York roads.

“Susquehanna Road at that intersection is not a straight line; it veers off a little because of the cemetery on one side and buildings on the other. It’s unsightly and it’s dangerous,” said Carol DiJoseph, president of the board of commissioners.

The finalization of the study comes at an advantageous time for the committee that is rewriting the zoning ordinance, which hasn’t been updated since 1996.“Rewriting the zoning ordinance is something that would have to be done. We’re really lucky that this study happened at the same time, because it’s aiding other decisions that we will make while writing the ordinance,” said Larry Matteo, director of code enforcement.

Kline’s committee is using the corridor study to consider making similar zoning allowances for Easton Road, Township Line Road and Keswick Village. Working on the ordinance is an ongoing process. According to Kline, instead of introducing changes to the board of commissioners in a piecemeal fashion, they are waiting until all considerations have been made to introduce a comprehensive plan.

“We’re trying to create a vision. When developers come to us and ask what we have in mind for the township, we can answer them. We have to have a vision,” said DiJoseph.

The Abington Township Old York Road Corridor Improvement Study will be presented June 3 at the public affairs meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Abington Township Municipal Building, 1176 Old York Road, Abington, and again at a town meeting July 8 at Abington Senior High School. There is no set schedule for the presentation of the comprehensive zoning ordinance.


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