Township of South Whitehall, PA Clear Sight Triangles

The designated width of roadway pavement to carry through traffic and to separate it from opposing traffic, traffic occupying other travel lanes, a parking lane or the shoulder. The travel lane may be delineated on one or both sides by travel lane pavement markings. If the travel lane is not delineated on both sides by travel lane pavement markings, the travel lane shall be 12 feet in width as measured from an adjoining travel lane pavement marking or from the center line of the street or from the edge of another travel lane (should the road contain more than two unmarked travel lanes). The inner edge of the travel lane is always closest to the center line of the street; the outer edge of the travel lane is always the most distant from the center line of the street.

§ 304-40 Clear sight triangles required at intersections of public streets.

At every intersection of a public street, private street or commercial driveway with a public street there shall be triangular areas deemed to be clear sight triangles. A clear sight triangle shall be determined by the intersecting street center lines and a diagonal line connecting the two points, one at each center line. The distance of each point from the intersection of the street or driveway center lines, as applicable, shall be as specified by PennDOT's Intersection Sight Distance or Formula Sight Distance, in the latest edition of AASHTO "A Policy On Geometric Design of Highways and Streets" as applied by PennDOT.

There shall be no obstruction of vision between a height of two feet and 10 feet above the center line grade of the street within the clear sight triangle.

Clear sight triangles shall be graded as necessary and kept clear of any buildings, plantings, or other obstructions, with the exception of items required by a governmental or quasi-governmental entity or public utility, such as, but not limited to, traffic signage, utility poles, etc.

§ 304-41 Notice of violation.

Upon discovery of any violation of this article, the Township may, in its sole and absolute discretion, forgo any prosecution hereunder, and may grant the owner a period of 30 calendar days to comply with the provisions of this article and remove the violation. If the Township, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines the violation to be of an emergency nature, the Township need not provide a thirty-calendar-day period to cure the violation and may immediately commence to abate the violation pursuant to § 304-42. The Township's Code Enforcement Officer, Public Works Manager or other employee or agent designated by the Township from time to time shall have the power and duty to administer and enforce the provisions of this article.

§ 304-42 Authority to abate noncompliance.

If the owner of property upon which the violation of this article is located does not comply with the notice to abate the violation within the time limit prescribed, or in the event that the Township, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines the violation to be of an emergency nature, without any prior notice, the Township shall have the authority to, and may, take measures to correct the conditions and collect the cost of such corrections plus 10% of all costs.

§ 304-43 Appeal.

A violation of the clear sight triangle requirements may be permitted upon application to and approval by the Board of Commissioners.

Appeal process.

(1)

Application. An applicant may submit an appeal application to the Board of Commissioners. The appeal application shall conform to the requirements listed below or be deemed incomplete and rejected. The applicant may provide additional materials as necessary to support the appeal. The application shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:

(a)

A completed "Professional Staff Consultation Application," including W-9, Agreement, and fee and escrow for "Civil and Land Planning Engineering Review."

(b)

Five copies of a scaled plan showing sufficient detail of the intersection in question to support the appeal, showing, at a minimum, the intersection, the clear sight triangle and violation.

(c)

Written justification for the appeal.

(2)

Procedure.

(a)

The Township, within 10 days of receipt of an appeal application, shall forward one copy of the application to the Township Engineer and one copy to the Department of Community Development for review by the Township Public Safety Commission.

(b)

The Public Safety Commission shall review the plan and submission and submit a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

(c)

Following the submission of the written recommendation by the Public Safety Commission, the Board of Commissioners shall review the appeal application and render a written decision on the application.

(d)

Should the Board of Commissioners' written decision stipulate conditions of approval on the appeal, the applicant shall accept the stipulated conditions in writing within 10 days of the date of the written decision. Failure to do so renders the approval of the appeal null and void.

(3)

Public Safety Commission review.

(a)

The Public Safety Commission shall review the appeal application materials presented by the applicant and the review comments of staff, the Township Engineer and other applicable reviewing agencies. The Public Safety Commission shall consider whether continuation of the violation constitutes an unreasonable impact to public safety. Consideration may include, but is not limited to, the following:

[1]

Traffic control measures available at the intersection in question.

[2]

The speed limits of all streets entering the intersection.

[3]

The topography of the area surrounding the intersection in question.

[4]

Other traffic-calming devices installed or strategies implemented that impact the traffic flow through the intersection in question.

(b)

The Public Safety Commission may consider the implementation of actions that seek to mitigate the impact to public safety by the continuation of the violation in their determination.

(c)

The Public Safety Commission shall render a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. The Public Safety Commission may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards to this recommendation as it may deem necessary to ensure the public safety.

(4)

Board of Commissioners review and decision. The Board of Commissioners shall review the appeal application materials presented by the applicant, the review comments of staff, the Township Engineer and other applicable reviewing agencies, and the recommendations of the Public Safety Commission. The Board of Commissioners shall consider whether continuation of the violation, with consideration to any mitigating actions recommended by the Public Safety Commission, constitutes an unreasonable impact to public safety. The Board of Commissioners shall then render a decision and may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards to this decision as it may deem necessary to ensure the public safety.

(5)

Closure of application and applicant notification. The Board of Commissioners shall render a written decision to the applicant, the Community Development Department and the Township Engineer. The appeal application is deemed closed 10 days after the date of the written decision.

Should the owner of a property upon which the violation of this article is located submit an appeal to have the violation permitted by the Board of Commissioners, the above-mentioned thirty-day requirement to remove the violation is suspended pending resolution of the application. At such time as the appeal is deemed closed, the suspension of the thirty-day requirement is lifted and the owner of the property upon which the violation of this article is located shall have the remainder thirty-day time frame to remove the violation, unless otherwise specified by the Board of Commissioners.

§ 304-44 Violations and penalties.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article or failing to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof, shall upon conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 per day the violation exists, in addition to the costs of prosecution. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.