A roundabout on Belmont Avenue? No way, some in Lower Merion say

Amid the City Avenue redevelopment boom in Bala Cynwyd, some local residents are alarmed at the prospect of a multilane traffic-calming roundabout at a key intersection.

“This has gone from being a one-lane, to a hybrid, to a [fully] two-lane roundabout,” said Nanci Goldman, president of the Sutton Terrace Home Owners Association. The 11-story, 172-unit condominium building has stood at the corner of Belmont Avenue and St. Asaphs Road since 1960.

“There are no other two-lane roundabouts in Pennsylvania,” Goldman said. ”We don’t want to be the guinea pig.”

Lower Merion Township officials also are concerned about the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s proposed $5 million reconfiguration of the Belmont and St. Asaphs intersection, where visibility is limited in spots and the 25-mph speed limit seems theoretical, if not fanciful.

The officials do agree the intersection needs improvement, but view the proposed roundabout as a formidable impediment to pedestrians from Sutton and other nearby residential buildings who simply want to safely cross St. Asaphs.

They also say the roundabout would compromise the township’s ongoing efforts to connect elements of the traditional suburban commercial district — buildings like islands in seas of parking lots — with infill residential and retail projects in order to create an urbane, cohesive, and less car-dependent neighborhood.

“The state’s goal is to improve the safety of the intersection, and our goal is to create a safe, walkable environment. We’re not that far off,” said Christopher Leswing, the township’s director of building and planning. “This shouldn’t be that hard.”

Township Commissioner Louis E. Rossman said he simply wants his constituents “to feel safe when they cross the street, and to feel as if PennDot has answered their questions and ameliorated their apprehensions.”

Leswing said plans by various developers call for five mixed-use buildings with a total of 497 residential units above ground-floor retail space and a single-use residential building with 70 units. A 13-story hotel and an eight-acre park also are proposed for the sprawling and somewhat jumbled landscape bounded by City Avenue, St. Asaphs Road, Presidential Boulevard, and Conshohocken State Road.

» READ MORE: City Avenue in Lower Merion set to triple its apartment count, transforming the office and retail hub

“The township intends to extend the existing street grid with new roads lined with sidewalks, street trees, on-street parking, and ground-floor commercial spaces” linked to the Bala Shopping Center site as well as other commercial properties slated for redevelopment, said Leswing.

A number of Sutton Terrace residents, including Bob Handler, Joan Ochroch, Alan Fogel, and Goldman, said they have attended online and in-person meetings with PennDot and township representatives. They characterized the sessions as largely unsatisfying.

They also have sent letters to state, county, and local officials, as have residents of seven other nearby condo or apartment buildings who have joined the Bala Cynwyd Neighborhood Coalition because of the roundabout proposal. Goldman, a founder of the group, said it represents about 1,000 people.

“PennDot presented the roundabout like it’s the best thing since sliced bread, and were tone-deaf to us,” said Handler, 72, a retired child psychiatrist.

“It was, ‘We know best,’” Goldman, an educator, said. “Is this roundabout the right fit for this location? I don’t think PennDot has proven that to us.”

Fogle, a 79-year-old retired civil servant who worked in the administrations of former Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, said it seems to him that PennDot “has money and wants to find a place to use it and has to justify the roundabout” proposal.

Fogle also said he can’t understand why the state transportation agency seems so wedded to a roundabout when “the constituents aren’t happy about having a roundabout there.”

Answering a list of five specific questions, a PennDot spokesperson gave a general answer, asserting that roundabouts “have been shown to calm traffic and improve safety” and that the agency “has heard the community’s concerns” about the proposal.

“We’re committed to meaningful community engagement and improving our transportation system through an open and collaborative planning process,” the spokesperson said.

“We understand the community’s concerns and are evaluating other options to improve this intersection and are committed to work with the community.”

Commercial development of the eastern stretch of City Avenue gained momentum after World War II, especially on the Lower Merion side of the street.

TV and radio broadcasting facilities, office buildings, and high-end department stores such as Lord & Taylor as well as Blum’s, both long gone, and Saks Fifth Avenue, still going strong, helped make Bala Cynwyd a regional destination.

But by the 1980s and ’90s, King of Prussia and other regional malls had eclipsed City Avenue, and the strip was in need of a refresh. The City Ave District was established in order to manage, improve, and promote the 2.7 miles of retail, residential, and institutional facilities along the city and the suburban sides of the avenue.

“It’s mostly a suburban area built in the 1950s for vehicles,” said Bryan Fenstermaker, the business improvement district’s executive director.

“But once the redevelopment and redesign work gets done five or 10 years from now, we’ll be in a different situation,” he said.

“People who live here will be able to get around the [new] neighborhood without getting in their cars. People who live in the condo buildings won’t be living on islands.”

Steve Barnett has lived at the 100-unit Fairmont condominiums on St. Asaphs Road for two years and is president of the homeowners association there.

“My personal opinion is, I think Lower Merion and PennDot can get on the same page,” said Barnett, 75, a retired executive manager.

“To stop this roundabout in its tracks [without] a long-term solution is a mistake. The two parties need to come back with a proposal they can both support.”