Kidder Township supervisors want a traffic light at the intersection of Route 903 and Lake Harmony Road, but the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said results of a September study didn't warrant a signal.

Supervisor Chairman Robert Lengle said the township set aside $200,000 to pay for the signal after the state informed Kidder five years ago that one would be necessary upon completion of the Route 903 E-ZPass Turnpike Interchange."Now, much to the township's dismay, PennDOT, after a study performed on a Wednesday during the nonsummer and nonskiing months of the year, has told us we don't need a light at what is already the most difficult intersection in the township," Lengle said.PennDOT district traffic engineer Dennis Toomey tells a different story. According to Toomey, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission did a study five years ago that showed the intersection was operating well. In fact, on a scale of A to F, the intersection was graded B."That is a very good score," Toomey said. "The study also indicated that when the interchange opens, the intersection would be operating at a level C, which in the grand scheme of things is still not bad and would not warrant a signal."The Turnpike Commission said weather will determine whether the interchange opens before or after the calendar turns to 2015.The same report showed that by 2030, the intersection would be at a level F and would require a traffic signal.Lengle said traffic on Route 903 passes the intersection at speeds far in excess of the 55 mph speed limit."Vehicles also approach the intersection from a curved road on one side and a tree-obscured view on the other," he said.The township, according to Toomey, asked in April for the most recent traffic study, but because of the steps involved in getting to the point where it could be done, it wasn't completed until September."Unfortunately, we couldn't get there to do it in the middle of prime-time summer," Toomey said. "That being said, our September study showed that intersection has less than 50 percent of the traffic that would be necessary to require a signal."When asked what would require a signal, Toomey said the formula was complicated."The traffic volume during different parts of the day could warrant one, or a significant number of crashes that could be avoided with a traffic signal would be a factor in determining its need," he said.PennDOT has assured the township it will work to come back during the peak ski season for nearby Big Boulder."We'd be open to coming back and doing a study on a weekday and a weekend during a busier time," Toomey said.For Lengle, that can't come soon enough."The opportunity is here to address a problem before it results in accidents and injuries," he said.