Avoid Markley For At Least The Next Month

The good news is, we're getting close to the end of the nightmare that Markley Street's been the last few years. The bad news is, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

As I drove down Markley yesterday, I noticed parking restriction signs the length of the work area--no parking for the next 4 weeks. And I wondered if that meant it was time to pave the street. This morning I got notices from Matt Bradford and Linda Christian saying just that. The new curbs are in. Now it's time to start milling down the road surface, then paving.

PennDOT's only supposed to do this work Mondays through Thursdays from 9 am to 3 pm, but if the weather's bad, they may work Fridays, too. If you try to get through that way, you'll probably encounter flagmen and temporary slowdowns and stoppages. Even on the weekends and at nights, expect a bumpy road.

The best thing to do is avoid Markley completely if you can. Harding Blvd will get you around most of it, though the blocks between Elm and Harding and the blocks of Johnson Hwy near Markley will also be a mess. Those of us who live in the North End, especially those west of Markley, are particularly effected.

And I might add, nice timing PennDOT, with half the town wanting to come to Elmwood Park for July 4th. But we'll see, maybe it will be done by then.

The best news is, Markley should be opening up again this fall, once the paving's done and new street lights are installed and trees planted along the route.