On the same night that Towamencin Township supervisors pass a resolution 4-1 asking the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to change the name of Exit 31 of the Northeast Extension to Kulpsville-Towamencin, Lansdale Borough Council unanimously approves an opposition letter to the request, addressed to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority.
Read The Reporter article here.
In a letter drafted by and signed by Lansdale Borough Manager Timi Kirchner, and addressed to Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority Executive Director Craig Shue, Kirchner states that council to "strongly oppose any name change to the what is now the Lansdale interchange on the Pennsylvania Turnpike."
Kirchner said she was directed by council to write a letter to the authority, expressing the opposition.
This opposition is in reaction to various recent articles in the newspaper reporting that elected officials in another municipality are suggesting a name change, removing Lansdale and making it the Kulpsville Interchange.
The letter states that the interchange has always been Lansdale ever since it opened in 1955.
This interchange, like so many other Interchanges is not physically within the town for which it is named, but, as in our case, is within an area where thousands of people have a Lansdale mailing address, even though they live in municipalities of a different name
Coincidentally, that statement in the letter was stated as the reason for Towamencin Supervisor Bob Rau's dissenting vote, according to The Reporter. Rau was also opposed to the estimated $5,000 the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would spend on new tickets and six new signs.
As Rau is stated in The Reporter:
To the turnpike commission, $5,000 is not to a lot of money. But in my little world, $5,000 is a lot of money.
Kirchner also made a similar point in her letter:
The economics are on the side of maintaining the name, as a change would be costly at a number of levels
Lansdale's letter ended with the following statement:
We feel that the history and logic are on the side of keeping the Interchange name the same: Lansdale.
According to the article, Towamencin's meeting Wednesday night had three members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in attendance: Rep. Kate Harper (R-61), Rep. Bob Godshall (R-53) and Rep. Matt Bradford (D-70).
Harper told Towamencin she would pass the request along to the commission and PennDOT.
Bradford said he would work toward a win-win solution.
Godshall said Lansdale's stiff opposition is the toughest obstacle.
Godshall and State Rep. Robert Mensch (R-24) were sent copies of Lansdale's letter.
The idea to change the turnpike interchange came from Towamencin supervisors.
Towamencin Supervisors Chairman Dan Littley told The Reporter that the township's 2007 strategic plan suggested the name change as "a matter of community pride and community vision.”
Lansdale Councilman Jack Hansen initially proposed the opposition to the name change,
