Family of teen shot while crossing MacDade Boulevard asks Ridley to support improvements

Holding a photo of her 17-year-old granddaughter, who died while crossing MacDade Boulevard in April, Suzanne de Seife and other family members implored Ridley County commissioners to reconsider their rejection of a $3.4 million road improvement project for that stretch of road.

“It can be done,” he said. “It can be creative. “It could save lives.”

De Seife and other members of Damien Hocker’s family and community members approached county commissioners at the Nov. 20 meeting, urging them to reconsider PennDOT’s $3.4 million federally funded MacDade Boulevard Safety Improvement Project. The county rejected the proposal in July and it has since been shelved.

“I’m here on behalf of my son,” Doug Hocker told commissioners, adding that he believes they want to make the town safer. “You want to be on the right side of history.”

While Damien’s father and grandmother were in front of the county commissioners, his mother, Elizabeth Hocker, was in Washington meeting with U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5, of Swarthmore, and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. In September, de Seife asked the Delaware County Council to establish October Pedestrian Safety Month.

“We are trying to prevent more deaths on MacDade Boulevard in Ridley, where dozens of children pass that way every day,” De Seife said.

At the county commissioners meeting in November, another county resident said there were 159 crashes along MacDade Boulevard in 2023, with 81 resulting in injuries and 10 resulting in serious injury or death.

According to PennDOT, several portions of the 3.4-mile stretch of MacDade Boulevard in Ridley Township and Glenolden have been identified as high crash hotspots through the Statewide High Crash Locations List. From Jan. 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2016, 439 crashes were reported in MacDade from Fairview Road to Ashland Avenue. Of these, 186 were angle collisions and 129 were rear-end collisions.

Improvements have been made to MacDade Boulevard in Glenolden, including reducing traffic flow from four lanes to two. PennDOT did not move forward on the Ridley portion of the project after county officials voiced residents’ concerns.

“Would Damien be alive today if they had followed this plan?” de Seife asked. “We don’t know. “The only thing we can do at this point is to prevent this from happening to others.”

The MacDade Boulevard Safety Improvement Project will cover MacDade Boulevard from Fairview Road in Ridley Township to Grays Boulevard in Glenolden.

It would include a road diet of MacDade Boulevard from Woodcrest Road to Grays Avenue; adding dedicated left turn lanes at four intersections; adding five dedicated right-turn lanes at five intersections, including Fairview Road; changing left turn phases at most signalized intersections; and modernization of signals along the boulevard.

“These countermeasures will target the high frequency of angle and rear-end crashes along the corridor, ultimately reducing fatal and injury crashes,” said PennDOT spokesman Brad E. Rudolph, adding that the signals will be connected to the PennDOT Regional Traffic Management Center. Improve incident detection and response, allowing improved emergency/incident impact time.

However, Ridley County Manager Joseph Ryan emailed PennDOT on July 17, stating that the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Corridor project from Fairview Road to South Avenue was canceled due to negative public feedback from the community and the planned public hearing was canceled. He requested that it be canceled due to the For August.

State Rep. Leanne Krueger, D-161, of Nether Providence, had helped set up the Aug. 27 public meeting to discuss the proposed project.

Ryan’s July 17 email to PennDOT noted multiple calls and personal contact with county commissioners and staff, as well as 300 comments on social media sites opposing the improvements.

“At this point the ball is in the Town of Ridley because the PennDOT project was ongoing, then the town managers wrote in July requesting that the meeting be canceled and they cancel the project,” Krueger said. “I think it would be helpful to have a public meeting where people can come forward and voice their opinions.”

If the project were to move forward now, the state would have its own requirements from the county.

“The department is not aware of any requests from the county to reconsider the MacDade corridor or propose other holistic solutions,” Rudolph said. “If the county wishes to restart (the Highway Safety Improvement Project), a written request demonstrating the unwavering support of the commissioners and the county’s resolution supporting the scope of the Highway Safety Improvement Program must be submitted to the department. “Upon receipt of such documentation, the department will evaluate the feasibility of restarting the project under the financially constrained security program.”

Krueger said he, State Sen. Tim Kearney (D-26) of Swarthmore and State Rep. Dave Delloso (D-162) of Ridley Park met with Hocker’s father, mother and grandmother and asked for emergency security for MacDade Boulevard and Fairview. He said they were discussing their measures. Statewide road and pedestrian safety issues.

“There was already a project in the works,” Krueger said. “The quickest way to achieve safety improvements on MacDade Boulevard would be to allow the PennDOT project to move forward.”

He explained that the state would need their approval to move forward with such a project, as the county would be responsible for maintaining the improvements made in the district.

“I am grateful for Damien’s family’s advocacy in trying to enact change that would prevent such a tragedy for another family,” Krueger said. “All of our offices remain in close contact with the family.”

Since the MacDade project was canceled, PennDOT has studied the intersection of MacDade Boulevard and Fairview Boulevard and recommended safety measures for that intersection, such as adding continental crosswalks.

Rudolph said the Ridley town engineer contacted PennDOT on Nov. 18 to suggest some additional safety measures at Fairview Interchange.

“PennDOT is committed to collaborating with local communities to ensure our projects meet the needs and expectations of residents,” he added. “While we believe the proposed road realignment project will address safety and speed concerns on MacDade Boulevard, we recognize the importance of community support and input in the decision-making process.”

De Seife said PennDOT’s plan is a good start.

“When you have a good road safety plan… then it improves the quality of life,” he said, adding that it also improves business. “If you make the roads safer for pedestrians, they will be safer for bicyclists and drivers… We hope they will work with PennDOT.”

Commissioners meeting

Multiple attempts to reach Ridley County Commissioner Chairman Robert Willert and County Manager Joseph Ryan were unsuccessful.

But at the commissioners’ meeting in November, Ryan described how improvements made to MacDade Boulevard at the entrance to the Blue Route were affecting that neighborhood.

“We started getting calls from School Road residents,” he said. “They were seeing a huge increase in traffic.”

Ryan said the town has an unnamed outside company that keeps the town under surveillance there.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in traffic being pushed into the neighborhood,” he said, adding that commissioners are considering having another company review pedestrian safety improvements.

The difference between Ridley Township and Glenolden, he said, is that Ridley Township has streets that run parallel to MacDade Boulevard, which can push traffic into neighborhoods.

“That’s something we need to look at,” Ryan said.

Patrick McMenamin, vice chairman of the Ridley commissioners, told the family and the public they will continue to work on this issue.

“We’re not done yet,” he said. “We will continue to evaluate”

The next Ridley commissioners meeting is Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. in Garling Hall at the township building, 100 E. MacDade Blvd.