KELAYRES — The address confusion has come to an end. Three streets in the McAdoo Heights section of Kline Township that shared names with other streets have been renamed.
Township supervisors voted unanimously Monday night to approve the final reading of an ordinance to change the names, ending a two-month process to determine which of the duplicate streets were to be renamed — and to determine their new names.
There had been package delivery problems, but Supervisor Dale Wesner said confusion by emergency responders when answering police, fire and ambulance calls was the most important reason the problem needed to be addressed.
The renamed streets are a portion of South Kennedy Drive near the Kelayres Road, two sections of James Street, and Green Street in the East McAdoo Heights section.
Effective immediately:
•Wesner said the 1,250-foot section of James Street, between Carl Street and Cedar Street, is now Naomia Avenue, named for the person who donated the road for public dedication, Naomia McAloose.
•The 400-foot section of James Street, between Maple Lane and Marcus Court, is now Maple Lane.
•The 500-foot Green Street in East McAdoo Heights is now Middle Street, a name decided on after getting input from the residents, Wesner said.
•The 500-foot South Kennedy Drive, located one block south and parallel to Snyder Avenue, will revert to its former name, South Tamaqua Street. That’s what it was called before Route 309 through McAdoo was renamed for President John F. Kennedy after his 1963 assassination.
The new names came from the consensus opinion offered by township residents at a 40-minute March hearing on the matter.
There were three James Streets — in Kelayres, McAdoo Heights and East McAdoo Heights — and two Green Streets — in Haddock and East McAdoo Heights.
Residents on the renamed streets said they were having trouble getting their home addresses to come up on GPS devices, while residents on the other duplicate-named streets were not.
Wesner said that a letter was sent to the Schuylkill County Communications Center notifying them not to use South Tamaqua Street when answering an emergency call because it is not a through street. Emergency responders should access those homes from an alley that runs behind them, Wesner said.
On a related matter, Wesner said township supervisors are going to put together a roadwork schedule for 2017.
Wesner said the supervisors are surveying township roads to see which are the worst. That will help them determine which roads will be paved and then specifications developed that can be advertised to get prices. The supervisors authorized township solicitor Mark Semanchick develop the advertisements.
The township has $50,000 budgeted for roads, Wesner said.
Cleaning up
Supervisor Carmen Cara said that 23 people came out for the annual township roadside cleanup from April 21 to 22.
“We had nine people from the McAdoo-Kelayres Honor Society,” Cara said. “We had a considerable amount of people. It’s the most we’ve had in years. They did a great job of picking up litter in the surrounding areas — Tresckow Road, Haddock, Silverbrook and the Kelayres Road ... and some other areas in the township we had the extra people to do Grove Street and Bayview Avenue. It really worked out well.”
Wesner asked that a folder with all of the information, including points of contact, from the pickup be maintained, “so that from year to year whoever is doing it, it just keeps getting better and better.”
Wesner also said the “community project” to beautify a “Welcome to Kline Township” beautification area along Market Street is progressing.
Contact the writer: jdino@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3585