Cherry Hill Police are preparing visitors and residents for major traffic congestion in the township as Pope Francis visits the area for the World Meeting of Families 2015 in Philadelphia from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27. The event is expected to draw as many as 2 million people to the region.
Thousands of people are expected to travel to Philadelphia on the PATCO hi-speedline. PATCO is running special express trains to Philadelphia, with trains only stopping at Lindenwold, Woodcrest, and Ferry Avenue and Broadway in Camden on Sept. 26 and 27.
Because only four New Jersey PATCO stations will be open, Cherry Hill Police are preparing for the possibility of large crowds traveling to Woodcrest Station. Chief of Police William Monaghan said while it’s unknown how large the crowds will be, the police department is preparing as if the event will bring a significantly large crowd.
“We want to keep traffic moving the best way we can,” Monaghan said. “We wanted to mitigate any potential impact on the neighborhoods within close proximity to the train station.”
Woodcrest Station’s parking lot can hold a maximum of 2,700 vehicles. Monaghan said the parking lot is expected to fill to capacity quickly with the number of tickets PATCO is planning to sell prior to the event. Those vehicles will need to park on streets surrounding the station.
The police department’s traffic safety unit announced many parking restrictions for the weekend. Parking will be limited to one side of the street on most streets connecting directly with Burnt Mill Road between Haddonfield-Berlin Road and Evesham Road. Some of those streets include Bryant Road, Woodfield Court, North and South Bowling Green Drive and Longfellow Drive from Burnt Mill Road to Hillside Drive. Parking will not be permitted on roads where there are pre-existing stopping and standing restrictions such as Evesham Road, Burnt Mill Road and Haddonfield-Berlin Road, and five residential streets, including Railroad Avenue, Woodcrest Road, Melrose Avenue, Lakeside Avenue and Atlantic Avenue.
The primary focus for the restrictions is on public safety and minimizing how much the potentially large crowd impacts area residents.
“We want to be able to get any life-saving response down those streets if someone needed it,” Monaghan said.
“This plan is no way to inconvenience (local residents),” he added. “It’s to keep people from inconveniencing them from their everyday lives.”
There will be a couple altered road patterns during the weekend. The northbound right lane of Burnt Mill Road will be closed.
“There will be some lane restrictions on Burnt Mill to accommodate pedestrian traffic,” Monaghan said.
Bryant Drive between Burnt Mill Road and the first intersection with Bowling Green Drive South will also be closed. Residents living on the 100 block of Bryant will not be able to access Burnt Mill Road.
Director of communications Bridget Palmer said the township and police department will be reaching out to affected residents living near Woodcrest to inform them of all the restrictions.
Those planning to travel to Philadelphia from Woodcrest should prepare to walk upward of one mile to the train station. However, all commuters should look for parking at the Woodcrest Station’s lot first.
“Plan to park at the PATCO lot,” Palmer said. “If that’s full, our police will direct where to go.”
The police department will have a plethora of officers on duty through the weekend in case of a large crowd. There will be a large police presence in the Woodcrest area, both near the train station and also within the neighborhoods.
“We’re going to have a heavy police presence in the area to control traffic,” Monaghan said. “We’ll have visibly marked patrols in the neighborhoods.”
The police department knew Cherry Hill would be impacted in some way last year when the papal visit was announced and it was able to schedule well in advance. As a result, the police department will likely not have to pay overtime for the weekend and there will be no additional costs to taxpayers.
While there will be a heavy police presence near Woodcrest, Palmer said there will not be an issue patrolling the rest of town as during a normal weekend.
“The whole town will be covered as usual,” she said. “There will be no decrease in police presence in other areas.”
Police officials will also be monitoring traffic along Routes 70 and 38 in the township. Monaghan said there are no plans to alter traffic patterns along either road at the moment, but police do have plans in place if traffic congestion becomes too much.
For residents not planning to attend the events in Philadelphia, the message is simply to avoid the main highways and the area near Woodcrest Train Station.
For residents who must travel around the township that weekend, township and police officials will continue to post updates on traffic conditions. Message boards will be near the Woodcrest Train Station helping to direct the flow of traffic. The police department and township’s Facebook and Twitter pages will also provide updated traffic information.
