'Traffic Calming' Fountain Project Moves Ahead in Collingswood

Borough commissioners continued to clear the way for the most talked-about roadway project in Collingswood on Monday: a "traffic-calming device" that will be situated in the median of Haddon Avenue before the Collings at the LumberYard apartment building.

Plans for "the famous fountain," as Mayor James Maley called it, were approved for submission to the county during the monthly local government meeting.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring.

At least part of the issue is conceptual for some residents—including one woman who said she thought it sounded "goofy"—but they'll have to wait a few months for the drawings to be provided.

In the meantime, Maley described the construction as  "a long, concrete barrier" with plantings and a crosswalk.

The idea is less about installing something on the scale of the Swann Memorial fountain at Logan Square in Philadelphia, and more to provide a mechanism to both beautify the roadway and slow the increasing volume of cars that travel it.

Maley compared the project with traffic bump-outs like those in front of the Old Zane School building and Villa Barone on Haddon Avenue, and emphasized its purpose in forcing motorists to slow down, especially given the expected increase in the volume of pedestrian traffic when the apartments are completed.

At least one resident wanted to make sure the important questions were answered at the meeting, asking the mayor, "Can we have the fountain green on St. Paddy's Day?"

"You're talking to a Maley," he replied.