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December 22, 2009

Pedestrians in peril | Crosswalks, speed limit ignored at hospital

Anonymous The Tribune-Democrat Tue Dec 22, 2009, 09:40 AM EST

We’re not proponents of financing police positions through overzealous motor-violation enforcement. That’s one of the reasons we have never supported allowing municipal police forces in Pennsylvania access to radar speed-detection equipment such as that used by state troopers.

But as the cash-strapped city of Johnstown follows through on layoffs of recently hired police officers, perhaps some much-needed traffic enforcement in the 8th Ward would serve two purposes: Send motorists a message and add a few bucks to the less-than-adequate coffers.

Our bone of contention is the area of Franklin Street in front of the hospitals, posted at 25 mph and equipped with pedestrian crosswalks.

Both are routinely ignored by motorists, and we just don’t get it. Why aren’t people getting the message to slow down and to stop for patients, visitors and employees in crosswalks trying to traverse busy Franklin Street?

It is a hospital zone!

Common sense should tell anyone traveling through that area that accidents are just waiting to happen.

We’d hate to see speed bumps, or even new traffic patterns become necessary in front of Memorial and Good Samaritan medical centers.

But even more, we’d hate to see someone lose a life trying to cross a street to get to a hospital or doctor’s appointment.

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