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Chatham residents claim SAVE crashed 41 meeting

A group of homeowners living within the historic village of Chatham just above Route 1 in London Grove Township have requested and received a second forum with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials as part of the Route 41 improvement project.

A handful of Chatham residents walked out of a July 19 public meeting by invitation at the Chatham Methodist Church after PennDOT officials refused to ask a bevy of uninvited guests to leave.

According to organizer Linda Saunders, the session was intended to be a special gathering between residents in the historic district. an outgrowth of a special historic district meeting held by state transportation officials, and consultants KCI Technologies and Glatting-Jackson.

The meeting was the latest in a series of events by which some Chatham residents feel as though their voices are being drowned out in the Route 41 improvement discussions by members of Safety, Agriculture, Villages and Environment (SAVE), said Saunders and Charlotte Nicotera, who both live along the Route 41 corridor.

"Instead of 25 or 30 Chatham property owners being given 90 minutes to express their concerns and ideas without intimidation, it quickly turned into a meeting in which they were outnumbered at least 3 to 1," said Saunders, a member of the London Grove Township Historical Commission.

Members of SAVE, who live in Chatham and London Grove Township and their vicinities, counter that the agency is looking to foster an open discussion involving PennDOT, its consultants and residents living throughout the Township, including Chatham village.

PennDOT officials confirm that Saunders was tasked with drawing up a list of Chatham Village residents to invite to a public forum on July 19. Saunders said that PennDOT approved an invitation list of approximately 40 owners of properties within the historic village of Chatham as recognized and set by the Pennsylvania Museum and Historic Commission (PMHC).

The confrontation

On the night of the meeting, several uninvited members showed up to express their opinions before the road planners.

Saunders said that even though she thought some of the uninvited residents had no ill intentions, she felt some may have wanted to drown out the voices of those Chatham residents who are opposed to roundabout options being espoused by the SAVE leadership.

"I feel that many did attend because they felt the need to shut down the voices of the Chatham residents," said Saunders, who said she left early with a group of neighbors. "I felt it was no longer a Chatham meeting, "said Nicotera, the outgoing Township tax collector, who also left the meeting. "It was rude for them to show up. I would never dream of showing up at a SAVE meeting."

Andy Warren, executive of PennDOT District 6, said the July 19 meeting was for the residents of Chatham Village, but it was not a closed meeting, and as a public agency PennDOT could not ask members of the general public to leave. He said that PennDOT has agreed to another meeting that will be specifically for Chatham residents at an undetermined date in August but with the caveat that if uninvited guests show up that the meeting will continue.

"There comes a time when practicality trumps individual desire," said Warren. "This is a public project by a public agency.

"No, we cannot limit meetings to people of one particular interest."

As part of an ongoing improvement project for Route 41, PennDOT has been allowing area residents to schedule individual sessions with officials from PennDOT, KCI Technologies and Glatting Jackson at the Chatham Methodist Church during a three-day period each month. PennDOT project manager Madeline Fausto said in a phone interview that anyone could stop by and view the various alternatives and data the agency is reviewing.

Also gathering at the Church each month is the Route 41 executive committee, comprising representatives from all the municipalities along the southern end of Route 41, as well as those from public transportation, emergency services, the agricultural community, etc.

Taking umbrage

Wayne DiFrancesco owns the Whitehorse Farm on West London Grove Road, just outside the Route 41 corridor. He disputes the notion that SAVE has tried to suppress dissenting notion and contends that Saunders tempted to exclude certain Chatham residents based on their political positions.

"I take umbrage with the fact that Linda Saunders is going around presenting herself as the voice of the community," said DiFrancesco. "It is distressing to see the lengths that Linda Saunders and Charlotte Nicotera will go to bend the truth."

At issue is which Route 41 traffic improvement solution will be the most effective for the several residences and businesses that border the busy thoroughfare which includes the intersections of routes 41, 841 and 926.

Several years ago, PennDOT showcased designs for improvement that featured bypasses around Chatham and Avondale as a way to reduce congestion and improve safety.

Many living directly on 41 in the village of Chatham and the borough of Avondale have argued that bypasses are the best solution for getting heavy truck traffic and frequent small car traffic outside of their downtown areas while improving nuisance conditions like brake noise, exhaust fumes and frequent car traffic that limited safe pedestrian access.

A large group of area landowners objected to the bypasses, claiming that such structures would require the seizure of open space and bring more sprawl and congestion to the quiet pastures outside the town centers. Many of those objectors became the founding members of SAVE.

The group has consistently advocated two-lane alternatives to improve future traffic conditions along the southern strip of Route 41 leading into the Delaware border since the groups' inception some five years ago.

Roundabouts, or signal-less, circular-intersections that promote the continuous flow of traffic, have been the leading alternative espoused by the group.

Design damage

Opponents say that such a design would damage the integrity of the village by requiring the condemnation of several historic buildings. The five-point interchange between routes 41 and 841 is the dangerous intersection in the village. Among the nearby structures that could be effected by any improvements are several homes, a historical building, Kauffman's Furniture and the former Chatham Food Market, which now contains several residences.

"[A roundabout] will probably destroy the village," said Nicotera. "Why would anybody want to destroy eight or nine homes in the historic district?"

Dee Durham, SAVE executive director, said in a phone interview that her agency has not yet advanced a comprehensive alternative plan for the village of Chatham but said that SAVE would never promote any alternative that could destroy the community.

"We asked a renowned engineer, and he felt that a roundabout could be put there without destroying its historic resources," said Durham. "SAVE would not be there for it if it was for the destruction of historic resources."

She said SAVE did not formally invite anyone from the southern end of the Township.

According to Durham, SAVE was alerted of the meeting by a Chatham resident, who was concerned that it was coming across that people in the village wanted a bypass. She also pointed out that there is some uncertainty over what constitutes the village portion of Chatham.

"I'm sorry people felt the need to leave, there is so much misinformation," Durham said. "We've been suggesting a dialogue all along."

She also denied that there was any slant in the executive committee or among PennDOT to favor one solution for Chatham over the other. DiFrancesco said that SAVE has worked to put more possible solutions on the table to improve traffic in Chatham and Avondale.

"Five years ago, the state only viewed one solution to work for everything whether or not Chatham needed it," said DiFrancesco.