Deerfield Manor Residents Speak Against Street Connections

Monday’s meeting of Upper St. Clair commissioners drew a substantial audience, with many in attendance having their say prior to the board’s vote on a revised preliminary subdivision for Deerfield Manor Plan No. 9.

At issue was a proposal as part of the subdivision to connect Turnberry Drive with Circle Drive in Upper St. Clair and the separate Circle Drive in Peters Township, a concept that drew objections from Deerfield Manor residents. Here are excerpts of their comments:

• Peggy Shay, Turnberry Drive – “We don’t want connectivity. Go around and talk to all the neighbors on Turnberry Drive. This is a walking neighborhood. … Look at the school buses. All these kids are out there early in the morning. … Do you think other people are from Peters Township … aren’t going to take the quickest route to get through Deerfield Manor? … We don’t want or need more exits to Route 19. What that does for our neighborhood is allow more people to come in and cut through. … I am here to implore you, please leave our neighborhood alone. We don’t need it; we don’t want it. There is not one good reason to do this.”
• Kim Gompers, Turnberry Drive – “What I want is for you to consider us as mothers and our kids riding around on their bikes, and I can’t be there at all times.”
• John Wetteran, Redfern Drive – “It’s going to reduce the property values in Deerfield Manor. It’s also going to create a cut-through, which flies in the face of the comprehensive plan, which we all spent a lot of money to have done. …The other thing I think that you need to think about is the property values. The 10 homes on Turnberry alone represent half a percent of the entire property values in Upper St. Clair.”
• Dave Klaber, Redfern Drive – “As I understood, the real reason for this whole idea from the staff was a concern about having a second access for medical or emergency purposes. Doing that (connecting Turnberry with only the Upper St. Clair Circle Drive) would solve the problem. It would provide another access, but it would not encourage traffic from Peters. … The idea was to have two access points in Deerfield Manor. We can do that without going into Peters.”
• David Brown, Gloucester Drive – “I heard it presented that traffic will move both ways, from Deerfield south and from Peters Township into Upper St. Clair. It kind of reminds me if I’ve got one hand in scalding water and one hand in freezing water, and on balance I’m lukewarm. It just doesn’t seem right. … We’re talking about a very peaceful, tranquil neighborhood that is going to be severely disrupted by an outlet to Peters Township.”
• Chrissy Carter, Redfern Drive, president of Deerfield Manor Homeowners’ Association, said she received 18 calls about the issue Monday and 79 emails within the past two weeks. “I had residents on vacation call me on my vacation to talk to me about this. … The people that have called me, which the list is extensive, do not want this.”
• Jim Sullivan, Hollow Tree Drive – “I agree with everybody else. Creating a freeway from (Route) 19 through Deerfield doesn’t make a lot of sense. … All you’re doing is creating a shortcut for Peters people. People cut through Deerfield right now on their way home to Peters. … Imagine when we do this (connecting the streets) for them. They’re going to love you.”