I don’t know if state Rep. Eric Weaknecht is a fisherman, but he sure opened a can of worms by inviting a public conversation on Route 183.

Weaknecht hosted a forum Tuesday evening at Reading Regional Airport to “bring those responsible for transportation and public safety together in one room so we can have an open conversation.”

As a daily user of Route 183, I had a good idea of what I was walking into for this assignment. If there’s one thing Berks Countians never tire of discussing, it’s our roads — and how people drive on them.

Surely, I thought, the forum would zero in on the hourglass section just north of Penn State St. Joseph Medical Center and the Route 222 interchange in Bern Township, the corridor’s most notorious choke point. But when I saw the long row of nameplates stretching across the gate‑seating area, I knew the meeting had the potential to become disjointed — a little like when comedian‑musician Crazy Elmer used to burst onto the stage during country shows at fire company carnivals.

The structure saved it. Attendees wrote questions on cards at the sign‑in table, covering anything related to Route 183. Weaknecht’s staff grouped them by topic to avoid redundancy. After brief remarks from Weaknecht, the panelists took turns.

County transportation planner Alan Piper told the audience that a 2022 citizen‑organized forum at Penn‑Bernville School prompted studies of problem areas and, eventually, a slate of projects. Preliminary engineering and design phases are programmed in the county’s current four‑year transportation improvement plan, which runs through 2030. Construction, for the most part, awaits the next plan.

Anticipating pushback, Piper conceded the pace is maddening.

“The process is something that we regret almost as much as you folks do — the amount of time it takes to work your way through it,” he said.

Bernville Mayor Wayne Lesher said he was stunned by how slowly government moves.

“This was started in 2022, and we’re just getting to see a little results of some of the studies now,” he said.

Lesher hears constant complaints about Route 183, especially the S‑curve just south of the borough, where fast‑moving traffic makes crossing perilous.

One PennDOT project will widen Route 183 in the Bernville area to add a center-turn lane. The same project will install a traffic light and turn lanes at Shartlesville Road by Penn‑Bernville School.

Residents also described trucks and cars whipping past them on the narrow shoulder in the Mount Pleasant area as they waited to turn onto Old Church or North Heidelberg roads. Some called for concrete median dividers to curb dangerous passing, which they say has worsened with the growth of warehouses along Interstate 78.

But the major projects outlined by PennDOT consultant Michael McGuire would do little to address the concern raised most often: speeding and aggressive driving.

Weaknecht wisely included Bern Township police and state police representatives, who said they know the issues well and do what they can with limited manpower.

The meeting stayed orderly, but frustration surfaced as residents confronted the limits of government — and of driver behavior. One woman finally offered the simplest short‑term fix: leave for work 15 minutes earlier and stop speeding.