Harrisburg’s Fab Four.
The Papenfuse administration had a little fun the other day.
The mayor, city engineer, city planner and budget director channeled their inner Beatle, posing on one of the new crosswalks along Front Street, mimicking perhaps the most famous road crossing this side of the chicken—the day that John, Paul, George and Ringo traversed Abbey Road for an album cover.
It was a publicity stunt, for sure, but Mayor Eric Papenfuse stressed the importance of the occasion, saying that, with the new crosswalks, busy Front Street was now a little safer for pedestrians to cross.
“State law mandates that cars yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk,” he said.
That may be, but will it make any real difference in the dangerous game of Frogger that residents play each day trying to cross over to Riverfront Park? Not much, I fear.
Now, I fully support the state’s recent improvements to the street. The conversion from three to two lanes has, in my view, made the street safer for motorists, particularly as the wide shoulder has allowed cars to enter the street and turn more safely. Front Street is also far more aesthetically appealing than before, and the change hasn’t much affected the flow of traffic.
But, from my office window overlooking Front Street, have I noticed traffic slowing down closer to the 35-mile-per-hour limit? No. And the new, bright white crosswalks, while welcome, have just become just another mark on the pavement for cars to zip across.
Yesterday, to its credit, the city erected two temporary signs in Riverfront Park warning motorists to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. This type of public education is vital since few drivers seem to know their responsibility under the law. However, it’s hardly enough. If PennDOT is serious about pedestrian safety, it must go beyond painting some white lines on the road and must take additional measures to calm traffic along the two-mile stretch from Division to Forster streets.
These methods are well known to traffic engineers, but may include everything from raised pedestrian crossings to permanent signage to a new stoplight or two. Many cities have had success combining several methods, such as changing the surface material at crossings and installing flexible signs within the intersection. The state, in fact, already employs some of these methods around the Capitol complex.
Moreover, I long have advocated for more (or even some) enforcement of traffic laws along Front Street. Police could pick off motorists all day for excessive speeding (over 50, 60 mph easily), reckless driving and illegal turns. Just yesterday, I saw a driver wait for a gap in traffic, then purposely turn the wrong way up Front Street from the driveway of an apartment building because he wanted to enter a side street half a block up, in the other direction. And it wasn’t the first time I’d seen that.
On Monday, I knew the mayor and his cabinet officials had arrived for the photo op because a city police car had parked near the intersection where it was to take place. When the time came for the picture, an officer waited for a small break in traffic, then cautiously waded into the road to stop the next rush of cars. She then held up traffic for a minute so the photo could be taken.
“Without her, the city would have four fewer officials today,” I joked to city engineer Wayne Martin.
And, even with the new crosswalks, that about sums up the state of pedestrian safety along Front Street. If the state is truly interested in making the road easier to cross, it must implement additional safety measures, which, as a happy byproduct, would further integrate the street and the park with the city.
This story was modified to indicate that the city installed the temporary signage.
