Middletown residents press PennDOT on Route 1 RC3 plans, warn of traffic and safety impacts

Residents pressed Middletown Township officials on potential safety and traffic impacts from PennDOTs proposed Route 1 RC3 improvements, urging coordinated outreach with neighboring municipalities and a timely public meeting.

At the meeting the board previewed the topic, saying Middletown and nearby boroughs had sent a joint letter to PennDOT requesting an in-person meeting with a virtual option so the community could review and comment on the refined plans. "Middletown Township has been cooperative with PennDOT and supports the planned changes to Route 1," the chair said while noting the township was awaiting PennDOTs response.

Several residents said they remain unconvinced the current preliminary designs reflect local travel patterns. "PennDOT has plans for the Route 1 and the 413 Interchange that will result in a dramatic increase in traffic," said Fran Grouse, a Middletown resident, and she urged the three communities that touch the highway to meet together on mitigation and pedestrian safety. Grouse cited advice from a firm Langhorne Borough engaged, saying the boroughs consultant advised the presented plan could lead to about 12% more accidents if implemented as-is.

Bill Everett, another resident, urged the board to push for the meeting now while the project is in preliminary engineering and recommended a current traffic study, ideally conducted during the school year to capture high-school travel patterns. "If the traffic study is 5 years old," Everett said, "I think it needs to be redone or updated." Everett told the board he could not find the traffic-study details online and stressed timely engagement.

Other speakers raised localized concerns: Kevin Belmont said proposed changes to access roads and planned roundabouts could cut neighborhoods off from convenient routes and noted recent and expected local development. "You're gonna put 42,000 more vehicles into the center of Langhorne," Belmont said, quoting an engineers estimate discussed at a prior meeting.

Township staff and supervisors acknowledged the concerns and said they are continuing to press PennDOT for a public presentation and to review traffic studies and options. "We are doing everything we can behind the scenes, talking to PennDOT, asking the right questions, looking at the traffic studies," a staff member said, adding that officials are taking the feedback seriously.

The board encouraged residents to contact the new state representative and other state officials because PennDOT is a state agency and additional constituent outreach may help prompt a public meeting. The township said it would notify residents through regular channels once PennDOT sets a date and that it will continue to request an in-person meeting with a virtual option so the community can weigh in before design decisions are finalized.

Next steps: the board said it will follow up with PennDOT, push for the promised public meeting, and share any updated traffic-study materials with residents when they are available.