Bradford, PA – On Tuesday, representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and the Highway Safety Network (HSN) gathered with safety partners from ARG Refining Group at the company’s Bradford facility to highlight the importance of pedestrian and crosswalk safety. They were additionally joined by safety partners including law enforcement officers from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Bradford City Police, Bradford Township Police, and Foster Township Police.

ARG employees utilize a crosswalk on Route 46 (Kendall Avenue) in Bradford to travel between their parking area and their facility each day. ARG management recently reached out to PennDOT, HSN, and Bradford City Police to coordinate efforts to maintain the highest possible standards of safety for those employees and the traveling public.

ARG Health and Safety Professional Sabina Vecellio said, “We have upwards of 75 crossings a day on this road. We also have heavy truck traffic in and out of the plant, moving slowly. Weather and road conditions can also play a factor in how visible pedestrians are in the crosswalk, so we want people to slow down and be aware of how much traffic there is here.”

Fellow ARG Health and Safety Professional Jon Rover added, “Overall safety in the crosswalk is what we want to see. We’ve seen speeding and improper passing by drivers in the crosswalk. Local drivers seem to have become complacent, and just get used to seeing the signs and lights that we have now.”

“We’ve seen a number of near misses here in the past,” said Bradford City Police Chief Mike Ward. “Here, and at other crosswalks in the city, we see speeding and distracted driving as big safety issues.  We’re here with other police departments and safety partners today to join them in recognizing these safety issues and to bring them to the attention of the public. We hope that results in safer efforts being made by everyone.”

Josh Woods, Highway Safety Network Community Traffic Safety Project Coordinator, reminded motorists that when a pedestrian crosses the street in a crosswalk, the driver must yield. When crossing the street at a signalized intersection, both pedestrians and motorists must obey the traffic control devices. In addition, if a pedestrian crosses the street where it is not an intersection and there is no crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield to vehicles.

“Our goal here today is to bring awareness to protecting not only pedestrians, but vulnerable road users here, as well in the City of Bradford,” said Woods. “It’s important that motorists slow down when approaching a crosswalk or intersection, that they travel at a prudent speed and don’t try to beat a light at signalized intersection, and most importantly always expect the unexpected and be alert for pedestrians.

“On the flip side, it’s important for pedestrians to cross only at crosswalks, that they look left, right, then left again and keep looking, and that they make eye contact with approaching drivers. Pedestrians should always watch for turning vehicles and obey traffic signs and signals.”

PennDOT Traffic Control Specialist Bob Campolong said a recent traffic study conducted at the Route 46 crossing resulted in plans that could improve safety, including reimagined signing and lighting in the area. He said, “We secured funding dedicated to pedestrians and vulnerable road users (VRU). This project will be funded, designed, bid, and constructed entirely by PennDOT. The ball is rolling on bringing this project to completion.”

For more information on pedestrian safety, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/safety.