A petition titled “NO to the 610 Old York Road Drive-Through – Keep our neighborhood roads safe!” is circulating in Jenkintown.
The campaign is asking Jenkintown Borough Council and the developer of the forthcoming Starbucks at 610 Old York Road to reconsider a drive-thru lane which, as of now, will spill out onto the adjacent Spring Avenue.
A product of the Jenkintown Abington Neighbors Association (JANA), the petition claims that Starbucks’ current agreement with the borough is “projected to add hundreds of cars daily cutting through Noble Village and eastern Jenkintown with an entrance / exit a block from two different bus stops for children.”
It goes on to claim that the current proposal “prioritizes car traffic over our community for private interests” and will undermine the “community’s health, children’s safety, neighborhood character, and well-being.”
52 residents have signed as of this writing.
“The only thing before council right now is the drive-thru use. There are conditional use hearings for the project,” borough manager George Locke said. “Starbucks just got their zoning approval last week for a drive-thru window to face a street. They’ll be back on November 20. Abington is a party to that hearing.”
According to Locke, an unnamed walk-up frozen dessert place is coming to the intersection as well.
“We’re trying to promote safer streets in our neighborhoods to local government,” Ross Abel, an Abington resident and founding member of JANA, said. “Our goal is to only use Route 611 for the drive-thru. Spring Avenue is a side street with a lot of families, toddlers, and babies.”
“We just want to slow the cars down and make things more walkable and bikeable. 611 is kind of a terrifying road to take your kids on right now. We’ve seen injuries or deaths from people walking or biking there,” Abel, who is also the co-chair of Bike Montgomery County affiliated with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, said.
Through PennDOT statistics, JANA has reportedly found that approximately seven local pedestrians have been fatally struck by cars in the last five years, including the recent passing of bicylist Kevin McCreary, Jr on the 500 block of York Road.
To access the petition, you can click here. For more on Jenkintown Abington Neighbors Association, you can click here.
For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.