New Rentals in Lower Merion?
Traffic. You can bet when the members of the Lower Merion Township’s planning commission meet next Monday, traffic will be on the agenda. To be discussed? A tentative plan, submitted by Nolen Properties, for new rentals in Lower Merion—specifically, an apartment building at 335 Righters Ferry Road in Bala Cynwyd. According to the Main Line Times, the apartment building would have the following specs:
- 11 stories total
284 units
5 acres
Majority 1BR units
Two- or three-floor parking garage
333,893 square feet
120 feet high
438 parking spaces
6 car-share spaces
Majority parking below-grade
35,000-square-foot public gathering place
Multipurpose public path
When it comes to suburban development, it’s always about traffic. Here’s some nitty-gritty for signal watchers. From the Times:
Based on a traffic study submitted with the plan, the new apartments will generate an average of 1,846 weekday trips, including 174 new trips in the key afternoon peak hour. At $1,544 per trip, its total fee, which will go into a general fund for improvements, comes to $286,656. The traffic study indicates that increased traffic on Righters Ferry Road from planned development will be accommodated by a proposed new traffic signal at Righters Ferry and Monument roads, and with signal phasing changes at the Righters Ferry/Belmont Avenue intersection.
The Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd’s Amara Briggs told the Times that the “overarching concern was not the plan itself, [but] was with respect to traffic.”
“This is just one project of several being considered for the area,” she said. A question will be “Overall, what is our tolerance” for additional traffic.
