Spring Break
College seeks ways to make road safer
A.J. Cordi
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Questions have long existed about how to make crossing Green Pond Road to the College safer, said Dean of Students Mardi McGuire-Closson.
Since 19-year-old NCC student Kara Bays was struck by a car driven by Jonathan Chinn, 19, while attempting to cross the road Jan. 27, pedestrian safety concerns have grown.
College administrators have suggested ways to make the road safer, including lowering the speed limit from 40 to 25 mph, and erecting a flashing yellow light to alert drivers to slow down.
The speed limit is without doubt too high, McGuire-Closson said, noting that traffic on the road has increased.
Perhaps the easiest and cheapest solution is to place movable cones in the middle of the street.
"From what I've seen, they seem to have some kind of effect," McGuire-Closson said.
Campus security would put the cones out in the street in the morning, and remove them at night.
The College hopes to have the cones by the start of the summer semester.
Taking smaller steps, such as using cones, must be taken to see how effective they are before the College resorts to bigger projects such as installing a traffic light, McGuire-Closson said.
Bethlehem Township Police have not changed or increased their patrols since the accident, Capt. George Boksan said.
The College has asked PPL to install a brighter light over the crosswalk.
It has not been determined whether Bays saw the oncoming car before it struck her.
"I'm not sure we'll ever know," McGuire-Closson said.
Since 19-year-old NCC student Kara Bays was struck by a car driven by Jonathan Chinn, 19, while attempting to cross the road Jan. 27, pedestrian safety concerns have grown.
College administrators have suggested ways to make the road safer, including lowering the speed limit from 40 to 25 mph, and erecting a flashing yellow light to alert drivers to slow down.
The speed limit is without doubt too high, McGuire-Closson said, noting that traffic on the road has increased.
Perhaps the easiest and cheapest solution is to place movable cones in the middle of the street.
"From what I've seen, they seem to have some kind of effect," McGuire-Closson said.
Campus security would put the cones out in the street in the morning, and remove them at night.
The College hopes to have the cones by the start of the summer semester.
Taking smaller steps, such as using cones, must be taken to see how effective they are before the College resorts to bigger projects such as installing a traffic light, McGuire-Closson said.
Bethlehem Township Police have not changed or increased their patrols since the accident, Capt. George Boksan said.
The College has asked PPL to install a brighter light over the crosswalk.
It has not been determined whether Bays saw the oncoming car before it struck her.
"I'm not sure we'll ever know," McGuire-Closson said.