New traffic sign in Cranberry to help protect pedestrians
CRANBERRY TWP — Drivers and pedestrians in the township have something new to keep an eye out for.
A new “Actuated Pedestrian Crossing” sign system was installed by the township at the connection between North Boundary Park and the Pinehurst neighborhood last week.
The sign is to be used at a mid-block crossing where no stop sign is installed. Its goal is to remind drivers to watch for and stop for pedestrians, public works director Kelly Maurer said.
“It’s to alert motorists to stop for the crosswalk,” she said. “’Actuated’ means that the pedestrian actually pushes a button, and lights come on around the sign.”
Unlike traditional “walk sign” crosswalks, when a pedestrian pushes the button on this sign, the lights immediately activate, and the pedestrian can cross, Maurer explained.
“It’s two-sided, so the motorist should be able to see it in both directions,” she said. “It is a PennDOT law that vehicles must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, but I think a lot of people don’t realize that.
The project was proposed in July 2021 after a traffic study found that 4,000 cars per day travel along North Boundary Road.
“We picked this location because of the high pedestrian and bicycle traffic to the park,” Maurer said. “Whether it’s children or adults, it's a high-pedestrian area.”
As the township is already in the middle of a fall “Slow Down Campaign” to remind drivers to slow down for children and other pedestrians, the timing works out, Maurer added.
“It’s for everyone to be a little more aware, and as it gets dark a little bit earlier and darker in the morning, to just be aware of pedestrians when you’re driving,” she said.
If the sign is well-received by the public, more may be installed, she said, describing it as a “pilot project.”
“We do have a number of locations that have these non stop-controlled crossings, so we are going to look at other areas,” Maurer said. “It was under $10,000, and the township did pay for it, but if we see good response, we may use it in other locations.”
