Sewickley Council Votes to Lift 'No Turn on Red' Restriction

Motorists waiting to turn right onto Route 65 from Walnut Street in will no longer have to sit and wait for a green light.

Council voted Tuesday night to remove the “No Turn on Red” restriction based on PennDOT’s approval.

PennDOT sent the borough a letter dated Oct. 3 that authorized the borough to lift the restriction.

Sewickley Manager Kevin Flannery said the borough wanted to shorten the wait time for traffic coming off Walnut Street. PennDOT conducted a study that determined the site distances are sufficient enough to remove the signage.

In the spring, PennDOT retimed the traffic signals at 19 intersections along the 65 corridor between the McKees Rocks Bridge and Cross Street in .

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi said the goal was to and keep motorists moving through the corridor, minimizing the need to stop from signal to signal at each intersection.

But while the retiming kept traffic flowing on the boulevard, cars on side streets such as Walnut were left waiting, sometimes for long stretches of time, because cars were prohibited from turning on red at any point in the day.

Flannery told council the traffic study would have cost anywhere from $7,000 to $8,000  if the borough had to do the work themselves.

He said the hope is to have the signs removed by Nov. 1.