Radnor list of expansion project concerns will go to Villanova on April 4

Villanova University's proposed $200 million-plus expansion project has caused quite a stir among Radnor Township residents, and alleviating concern is contingent upon Villanova's response to the township's list of suggestions and concerns.

Radnor Township sent an e-mail to attendees of the Township Manager's March 21 meeting, containing a 15-page list of suggestions and concerns which will be sent to Villanova Wednesday morning, April 4.

Comments and questions were broken down into several categories, such as traffic, pedestrian safety and pedestrian bridges, stormwater management, size of buildings, zoning relief, parking garage, light spill, electrical, noise issues, sanitary sewer capacity, streetscape and lighting, buffering, student enrollment growth, economic business impact and quality of life.

Concerns ranged from whether or not changing zoning for the university would "open the floodgates for more and taller development all over" the township, to the effect of development on traffic of Lancaster Avenue and nearby roads such as Conestoga, Montgomery and Garret avenues and Lowry's Lane. For the latter, a question was posed wondering if Villanova had conducted any studies for current traffic volume on these roads.

The list also asked questions regarding Villanova's enrollment prior to previous expansion projects, as well as how Villanova has prepared to make rectify student misconduct in or near locales shared by residents in neighboring communities.

Township Manager Robert Zienkowski's Executive Assistant, Jennifer DeStefano said the list will be made available online either by the end of the day or immediately tomorrow.

Residents who attended the March 21 meeting, submitted comments, questions and/or concerns and have changes or updates for the list are urged to contact mconn@radnor.org as soon as possible.