Supervisors discuss speeding problems on roads
GERMAN TWP. – State officials said Tuesday “there is no quick fix” to speeding problems on Leckrone-Highhouse and other township roads. The township supervisors welcomed guests from the state police and the state Department of Transportation to address traffic concerns raised last month after a deadly accident in July at the intersection of Leckrone-Highhouse and Leckrone-Masontown roads.
State police Sgt. James Baranowski stressed that residents must be willing to testify against transgressors and that community education is the key to solving the traffic problems.
Baranowski told residents he could not place troopers to work regular shifts watching for speeders, because it would not be fair to other communities and the officer would be responsible for answering other calls.
“Like any other government agency, we are stretched thin,” he said.
Examining accidents at the intersection over the past few years, Baranowski said most people involved in accidents on township roads are from within the community, people who are aware of the dangers of the intersection and who should be more careful.
Requests for four-way stops and stop signs painted on the roadway at the Leckrone-Highhouse/ Leckrone-Masontown Road intersection fared no better.
“No. We’ve upgraded warning signs. That should work,” said Tom O’Hern with the PennDOT safety department.
He noted that a motorist that chooses to ignore a warning sign and a stop sign will never notice a painted stop on the street.
“If we do this at one intersection, we will eventually have to do it at all of them. …This will become one more tool people will grasp at as a sure fix…when you really need better driver behavior,” he said.
“I live on that corner and I never want to see that again,” said resident Melanie Dean, referring to the deadly accident. “I am worried that this might not be enough. We don’t want to wait until the next accident when we will be back to square one.”
“Our community won’t be happy until we have a four-way stop. How many kids have to die in yards before you do something?” said resident Gary Mallot.
He said an accident last year sent a truck through one yard and into his before it stopped near his home.
“My kids are scared to play in the yard,” he said.
“PennDOT doesn’t make the rules,” O’Hern replied.
In order to qualify for a multi-way stop, the intersection must meet certain guidelines, including that it must have five reportable “angle-impact” accidents in an average year. On average, only two occur each year at the intersection in question, according to PennDOT. To be reportable, an accident must involve death, injury or damage to a vehicle requiring towing, O’Hern said.
Since one of the accidents that stands out in residents’ minds involved a school bus, Tony Tokish, business secretary for the Albert Gallatin Area School District, told the supervisors that four buses pass through the Leckrone-Highhouse/Leckrone-Masontown Road intersection daily.
Tokish noted that three of the four households at the intersection have children, and, because of concerns, the parents either drive their children to school or take them somewhere else to catch the bus.
The solution, said O’Hern, isn’t on the road but in the driver. He pointed out that younger drivers make the most mistakes and sometimes pay heavily for them. However, he also noted that some teens consider running stop signs as a type of game.
Both O’Hern and Baranowski agreed that stepped-up community education programs should be started to help raise awareness and reduce the problem from within the community.
Dean responded that community sessions wouldn’t work because the ones who would show up for the lessons aren’t the ones needing the instruction.
In that case, Baranowski stressed that residents must start testifying traffic violators and taking back their communities.
“If you get the license plate and can identify the driver and are willing to testify, call us,” he said.
In the past, just the license plate was enough, but today the driver also has to be identified, Baranowski said. He urged residents not to fear “reprisals that may or may never happen,” because police actively prosecute reprisal cases.
When questioned about ATVs or “quads,” Baranowski said officers will issue citations if they catch riders on public roads, but they will not chase them in patrol cars, because of the risk of causing an accident. Instead, he reminded residents that they have to be willing to testify against riders.