Safety & Security

Northampton Community College makes effort to improve pedestrian safety

The new crosswalks, which requires Pennsylvania Department of Transportation approval, is slated to be located on Green Pond Road, a perennial trouble spot for the college.

Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Penn., is moving forward with plans to install two lighted crosswalks and medians in order to slow traffic and better enable drivers to see pedestrians.

The new crosswalks, which requires Pennsylvania Department of Transportation approval, is slated to be located on Green Pond Road, a perennial trouble spot for the college. More than 2,300 cars travel that stretch of road each day, and four students have been hit by cars in recent years, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

The project is expected to cost $250,000 and will be paid for with money that was included in a $20 million bond issued to pay for the new dorms that will be near the location.

The college has hired a traffic engineer, who has been incorporating suggestions from PennDOT and Bethlehem Township officials to improve pedestrian safety along the road, according Lehigh Valley Live.

Among the changes to be made along Green Pond Road are the addition of a new curbed median designed to slow speeding cars, installation of a new crosswalk, and the removal of trees lining Green Pond Road to improve visibility.

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Kimberlee Payton-Jones

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