PENNDOT Lays Out Solutions For Tar and Chip Woes

At a meeting with PENNDOT District 6 Officials, BCGP's Chester County Cycling Coalition (CCCC) and Chester County's Transportation Services Director Natasha Manbeck discussed solutions to the problem of excess gravel being left in the Tar and Chip also called Chip Seal which has created safety issues with cyclists in Chester County (and rural portions of upper Bucks and Montgomery Counties).

















Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CCCC Chair Ellen Zadoff noted a location where a road defect was patched with tar and chip and the end result was an excess of stones which may have caused a cyclist to fall off his bike. Zadoff also mentioned a case where the process was well done on Pughtown Road. PENNDOT District Chief Engineer Lou Belmonte and Maintenance Director Nick Martino explained that on Pughtown (PA Bike Route S) they used a rental sweeper that collected excess stones instead of sweeping them off. They also used smaller stones on the edges of the roadway. PENNDOT verbally agreed to apply this process more often.

PENNDOT also agreed with CCCC's suggestion that better sign placement to warn bicyclists ahead of the freshly paved area will be used in the future. Although signs have been used in the past they were often placed at the edge of the treatment, a sign further up the road offers an opportunity to take a detour.

PENNDOT District 6 Executive Lester Toaso also agreed on a follow up meeting on bicycle issues in the district with Bicycle Coalition and County Planners in April.

Bonus phrase of the day - Bituminous Surface Treatment