I'm glad to give you the answer to your complaint. Chester Pike is owned and maintained by PennDot and not Ridley Township or Ridley Park. The light on the CVS side is in Ridley Twp and the light on the Taylor Hospice side is in Ridley Park. Neither the Twp or the Borough can change the timing on the traffic light because the light is controlled 100% by PennDot.

I've talked many times to RPPD's Chief Tom Byrne and RP's Engineer Charles Catania about this exact problem - and that they too are complaining about. PennDot has retimed all the traffic lights along Chester Pike in their new "Optimization Plan" which is intended to keeps traffic moving to save gasoline. The police departments all along Chester Pike are complaining because cars can easily travel at 45-55 MPH along Chester Pike and never catch a red light. Borough and Township Engineers are complaining because PennDot's optimization has side road traffic all along Chester Pike backed up because PennDot provides fewer right-turn-on-red opportunities.

As I'm told that only a municipality can request Penndot to re-examine a traffic and to reconsider presecibing a new traffic light timing patter. Currently every light pattern is timed by PennDot and issued what you'd think is a traffic light prescription; like the one at Acres Dr and Chester Pike has it's own prescribed time for red, green and yellow for each street. If the traffic light is knocked down, the repair company and the municipality have to reset the light to Penndot's original prescription. If the municipality decides to change the prescription in any way, or alters it some way, or tweeks it the hair of the dog, the municipality's 100% culpable if there's a mishap.

PennDot will only respond to a light timing problem when they receive a very specific, detailed, complaint, in writing that fully describes the need for them to change the timing; yes it's red tape time, plus it costs money to send out a review team to the intersection.

To have a PennDot review team reexamine a traffic light is a big deal and it requires more then a look-for-yourself request. I'm told PennDot wants specifics and then more specifics on top of that because they must first be convinced of a legitimate need to review a situation they have already, and recently, prescribed. I was given this as a for instance "between 8:12 and 8:42 an average of 16 cars back up behind the traffic light at XZY street. 8 cars are necessary to block ABC street and 16 cars block ABC street for more than 18 minutes each morning. On ABC street each morning 4 or more cars back up on ABC street. The four cars on ABS street idle their engines for 20 mintes each morning to gain access to Chester Pike. This traffic back up is caused by improper timing of traffic light number (See traffic light controller for No.) on State Road #@!, would you retime this traffic patter to relieve the back up traffic on ABC street and XYZ Street, thank you"

As you see, it is not simple and frustrates an already frustrating situation we are all confronted with - and you're not along. Several of the reports here on SeeClickFix regard traffic light patters along State Roadways: Chester Pike/Rt 13, Sellers Avenue, MacDade Blvd, East & West Ridley Avenue, Swarthmore/Morton Avenue, and Rt 420.

Hope I answered your questions and gave you the solution to collecting the traffic data and submitting it to Ridley Park or Ridley Twp. Then their managers can contact PennDot with your findings and request a reexamination of the traffic light patter at Acres and Chester Pike. Until then, I'd like to hear from anyone who has a better, proper, solution to changing the traffic light patterns on PennDot's highways.

Kevin,
You comment got posted twice; can you please remove one copy? Also as far as typing all caps, I know a few senior citizens who find it easier to read caps.

I'm back with a quick photo of acres drive from the Ridley Park side. Here there's no prohibition of a right turn on Red. I can't say that for Acres Drive - I'll check that side later.

If those lights on Chester Pike are timed then I'd like to know how. I was stopped at Swarthmore Ave at a red light at Chester Pike. As that light turned green, the light at Sellers turned red. When that light turned green, the light at Stewart turned red. If that's timed lights then I guess I don't know what timed lights are.

When stopped at light waitng to make left onto the Pike, do your neighbors a favor and keep closer to the double yellow lines, so that a driver making a right turn on red can get by. This is common courtesy, and good driving. It is amazing (and aggravating) how many idiots stop in the middle of Acres Drive making everyone wait for this rediculously looooong light.

Chester Pike is owned by PennDot and their prescription to change the light is contained inside my prior answers. So until PennDot changes the light patterns, this topic is closed