Douglass Township's supervisors have repeatedly expressed their concerns to the public over the traffic issues that would be created by the New Hanover Town Center. Municipal officials will get to express those issues to Montgomery County transportation planners and representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation during an April 15 meeting.

        Township officials have sought a work session with county and PennDOT officials for approximately six months, according to Manager Pete Hiryak. He said municipal officials attempted to include the developers of the project, which calls for 760 mixed residential units and 200,000 square feet of commercial retail space, including a grocery store, on 200 acres near the intersection of Swamp Pike and Route 663 in New Hanover.

        "We're very grateful for PennDOT's involvement in this project," the manager said Tuesday afternoon.

        According to Hiryak, the meeting will cover traffic issues the development might create and possible roadway and intersection improvements. PennDOT officials have collected a significant file on the proposed development, according to the manager.

        "It's definitely on their radar," Hiryak said during Monday's public board of supervisors meeting.

        In October, a representative of the developer and its traffic engineer told the Douglass Township board of supervisors that the construction of approximately 250 residences near the municipal border in neighboring New Hanover would add approximately 4,900 more trips to the road.

        The road had a daily traffic flow of 10,200 trips, according to Ben Goldthrop, a representative of American Real Estate Development.

        Sandy Kozer, the project manager from McMahon Transportation Engineers and Planners, told the public that the town center development would eventually lead to a traffic increase of 24 to 31 percent on Route 73 and an eight to 10 percent hike on Grosser Road in Douglass Township.

        Following Monday's meeting, Chairman Anthony Kuklinski reiterated his concerns about the project's potential traffic issues. He said getting the multiple stakeholders at the same table was a necessity, since the county controls Swamp Pike and PennDOT maintains Route 663 in New Hanover as well as three-quarters of an intersection in Douglass Township that would become tougher to navigate.

        "While this project is still in its infancy, we want to make sure several significant issues are addressed by the affected parties," Kuklinski said after the meeting.

        According to the supervisor, the discussion will include options to improve the intersection at Gilbertsville Road, Swamp Pike and Route 73 and who might pay for it.

        Kuklinski said the township's appointed professionals will also discuss overall traffic flow in the municipality with the contingency from the state agency. According to the supervisor, the dialogue will include details related to the proposed construction of Market Street, which intersects with East Philadelphia Ave. and would connect with Route 100.