×

Altoona should be pedestrian friendly

Flashing lights, screeching tires and a near miss but somehow students manage to cross the street on 17th Street and Ninth Avenue before the light changes.

Right of way is not something taken seriously in Altoona. In fact, many students have the right of way with a walking pedestrian signal.

However, many drivers ignore those signs, and the students are left to defend for themselves as to whether they can make it across the street safely or not.

The questions arises as to how this can be fixed. Rather simply, actually.

Officials could easily reprogram the signs to be pedestrian crossing only with a red light for traffic. This has long been a practice in most cities.

If we want to compete with other cities, we need to be as pedestrian friendly as possible, especially with local businesses who benefit from foot traffic.

As a person who drives around the city often, I have seen people try to cross at various intersections near the Altoona Area Junior High School, on Wopsononock Road, at 17th Street and Pleasant Valley Boulevard trying to cross to Sheetz and crossing the street by the Boyer Candy factory.

People are literally stranded until someone stops.

Even if you do stop, the car in the next lane might not. This is a true hazard and makes Altoona look like a free-for-all.

We can change this with a few extra lights, a switch of programming on the lights and a few extra painted crossing lines and stop signs.

I would love to see Altoona take the next step toward attracting more businesses and people to our area by putting our own first and making a difference to the quality of our lives.

Emily Dimov-Gottshall

Altoona

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today