Richland Residents Ask for Speed Deterrent on Forestwood Road

Orchard Park residents are asking for a third speed hump on Forestwood Drive to slow traffic in that residential neighborhood.

The Richland Board of Supervisors met with some of those residents Wednesday evening as the officials took their spring "roads tour" throughout the township, viewing roads on which improvement projects are planned.

Charlie Tea and other Forestwood residents said the speeding problem seems to be worse now that two speed humps are installed in the northern stretch of the road, close to its end at Community Center Drive.

Tea and others who live in the 300 block of the road say they want a speed hump installed in front of their homes, which are on a sharp turn at the bottom of a steep hill that ends at Vineyard Drive.

They asked for a speed hump to be placed on Forestwood between Edge Hill and Greenspring drives.

It seems motorists speed up in front of their homes to "fly up the hill," the residents said.

"No one is going 25 mph," Tea said.

Supervisor Raymond Kendrick said the first step is to talk to Northern Regional Police Chief Robert Amann about increased patrols in the neighborhood, with the understanding that police cannot be there all the time.

Township Manager Dean Bastianini said a traffic study would be needed. The township will place a counting device on the street after working with the police chief, he said.

Asked how much a speed hump would cost, Bastianini estimated several thousand dollars.

"Speed humps are similar to speed bumps, but they are much longer and more gentle," according to a PennDOT publication. "They are normally 12 feet long, with a maximum 3-inch height at the midpoint, and are placed across the entire width of the roadway."