The draft plan for Montgomery Avenue does not narrow the whole road. Lower Merion Township and Narberth Borough released 75 preliminary safety recommendations in October for the seven miles from Spring Mill Road to City Avenue. In the township's interactive map, the biggest change takes three forms. Some stretches drop from four lanes to three. Others give up a lane in one direction only. At many more intersections the lanes stay as they are and the signals and crossings change instead.
All of it is still a draft. The township's project page says the recommendations "do not authorize construction, establish a construction schedule, or guarantee funding." The township has also not scheduled the meeting where it will present the final recommendations. Your stretch could change in any of these ways, or not at all, depending on where you get on the road and which way you're headed.
Where the Four Lanes Become Three
The largest proposal converts Montgomery Avenue from two lanes each way to one lane each way, with a center two-way left-turn lane and dedicated left-turn lanes at signalized intersections. The map marks this treatment at these cross streets:
- Ithan Avenue
- Curwen Road and Ithan Avenue
- Thornbrook Avenue
- Wendover Road
- Price Avenue
- Gordon Avenue
- Iona Avenue
- Brookhurst Avenue
The map's own description gives the reasoning: the conversion "is projected to reduce crashes by approximately 29%." The center lane is where that projection comes from. A driver waiting to turn left moves out of the travel lane, so traffic no longer weaves around them in the inside lane.
Where Only One Direction Gives Up a Lane
The second treatment is narrower and easy to miss on the map. At another set of intersections the draft converts only one direction's leftmost lane into the center turn lane. The opposite direction keeps both lanes.
| Direction | Cross streets | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Westbound, toward Villanova | Morris Avenue, Radnor Street, Fishers Road, Pennswood Road | Leftmost westbound lane becomes a center two-way left-turn lane, with exclusive left-turn lanes at signals |
| Eastbound, toward Levering Mill | N. Narberth Avenue / Sabine Avenue / Old Gulph Road, Woodbine Avenue, Maplewood Road, Meeting House Lane, Parsons Avenue | Leftmost eastbound lane becomes a center two-way left-turn lane, with exclusive left-turn lanes at signals |
The table shows how the draft works overall. It fits each change to the specific location instead of applying one cross-section to the whole road. At these intersections, a commute on the same street could feel tighter heading out and unchanged coming home.
Where the Lanes Stay and the Crossing Changes
Most of the 75 recommendations leave the lane count alone and change how people cross the road and how the signals run.
At Parsons Avenue and Bangor Road, the map proposes unsignalized crosswalks with rapid-flashing beacons and advance warning signs. These could be paired with a median refuge and curb extensions, and on-street parking could be removed.
At Curwen Road/Ithan Avenue, Haverford Avenue, and Bryn Mawr Avenue in Narberth, the draft says new traffic signals would be considered only if signal warrants are met, and that PennDOT approval is required. Patch's preview described this as installing traffic lights at several T-shaped intersections. It also listed right-turn-only restrictions from certain cross streets.
Signal modernization is the longest list. Its locations include Airdale Road, Roberts Road, Merion Avenue, Morris Avenue, Pennswood Road, Haverford Station Road, Grays Lane, Woodside Road, Anderson Avenue, Millcreek Road, Gypsy Lane/Wynnewood Avenue, N. Narberth/Sabine/Old Gulph, and the Lower Merion High School driveway. Where it applies, the package can include:
- A leading pedestrian interval, which gives walkers a head start of three to seven seconds before cars get the green
- Accessible push buttons
- Reflective backplates on signals and signs
- Updated timing and phasing, including left-turn phasing where it applies
- New signal supports and cabinets
At Baintree Road, the map calls for upgraded 35 mph signs, a speed-feedback display and pavement markings. Across the corridor, the draft also calls for better street lighting, higher-visibility crosswalks and clearer speed-limit signs.
Why This Road, and Why These Fixes
Montgomery Avenue passes Baldwin School at 701 Montgomery Avenue in Bryn Mawr and Merion Cricket Club at 325 Montgomery Avenue in Haverford, and it runs through Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Ardmore, Wynnewood and Narberth. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, according to the township's 2025 Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, most serious crash injuries in Lower Merion from 2019 through 2023 happened on five roads, and Montgomery Avenue is one of them. The paper also reported that reportable crashes on the studied section rose from 97 in 2022 to 142 in 2023, then fell to 116 in 2024.
The study was paid for with a $340,540 grant from the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program. It drew on traffic counts, crash history and more than 2,500 public responses. Pennoni is the consultant, and at the October 26 open house in the Township Building in Ardmore its staff walked attendees through the draft.
One Change Already Has a Date
Most of the draft is undated, but one nearby item has a target. Separately from the study, Lower Merion plans to install new cameras at Montgomery Avenue and Airdale Road by the end of January 2027, weather permitting, MontCo.Today reported. Airdale Road is also on the draft's signal-modernization list, so it is the one corridor location with work on two tracks.
Where the Draft Goes From Here
The draft is being revised now. The township page says the project team is reviewing comments on the October recommendations "to evaluate any changes to the list of potential improvements." It gives "Late 2026/Early 2027" as the window for the final recommendations meeting, with the location still to be determined. Comments go by email to [email protected].
Even a final plan will not start construction. Every improvement in it would still need engineering, funding and approvals. The Board of Commissioners and Narberth Borough Council decide what to fund, and many items also need PennDOT approval.
Residents disagree about the draft. Safer Montgomery Ave, a resident group that is not affiliated with either municipality, described the room on October 26 this way:
"Many people there support calming traffic on Montgomery Avenue, but a vocal group is against it."
That is the group's own account. It is asking the study team to extend the lane conversions, including from Bala Avenue to City Avenue, and to add protected bike lanes, which the draft does not include. Others at the meeting oppose the changes. The study team is weighing comments from both sides as it revises the draft.
For now, the interactive map lets anyone look up the exact intersections they use. The lane changes are filed under Lane Reconfiguration, Westbound Lane Reconfiguration and Eastbound Lane Reconfiguration.
The draft ties each lane conversion, signal change and new crossing to a specific cross street, so what it means depends on the address. If you are weighing a property along the corridor or near one of these intersections, Black Label Keller Williams can help you consider what the study could mean for that address as the plan moves forward. Request a Private Consultation.
