New traffic signals in use on South College Avenue

3:45 p.m., Aug. 29, 2003--There are some new traffic rules for pedestrians to follow crossing South College Avenue at Amstel Avenue and Kent Way this fall.

During the summer, two new standard traffic signals were installed at the two intersections.

While students, staff and faculty formerly had the right of way by merely stepping into the crosswalk area, pedestrians now must wait to cross until the light has changed and the white walk symbol appears.

Your Responsibility as a Pedestrian

When a sidewalk is provided you must not walk on the highway.
When there is no sidewalk, don’t walk along the highway if you can avoid it. Only in emergencies should you walk on the roadway, and then walk on the left shoulder facing oncoming traffic.
You must not walk along a highway at night without carrying a light or reflector. You should wear light-colored clothing if possible.
You must not walk on a highway when under the influence of liquor or narcotic drugs.
You should not stand on the highway to ask for a ride or to conduct any kind of business.
You should cross the roadway and its shoulders only at marked crosswalks. Where crosswalks are not present you must cross at intersections. Where intersections are not present, and you need to cross the road, do so quickly and only after you have looked in both directions for oncoming traffic.
You must obey pedestrian “walk” and “don’t walk” signals when they are used.

- “Drivers Manual,” Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles

To help pedestrians and drivers acclimate to the new situation, members of the Newark Police Department will be on scene periodically between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to educate pedestrians about the new signals.

“We are going to have officers on overtime covering both lights as much a possible,” Lt. Thomas Lemin, Newark Police traffic division commander, said. “We want to make sure that pedestrians and drivers are observing and obeying the new signals.”

The education/enforcement effort is funded by a 30-day federal grant issued through the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, Lemin said.

While a crosswalk area with traffic of 100 pedestrians per hour may qualify for the use of a traffic signal, the two South College Avenue crosswalks where new signals have been installed have pedestrian usage of more than 1,000 persons per hour, especially during peak periods between classes and during lunch hour, Lemin said.

The heavy volume of crosswalk usage often caused traffic tie-ups on South College Avenue as far south as Park Place, as well as on other roads adjacent to the area, Lemin said.

“We hope that the addition of these new signals will greatly reduce the number of conflicts between pedestrians and automobiles and that it will be more efficient for drivers and pedestrians,” Lemin said.

Lemin said that news releases to local media outlets, such as The Review, News Journal and Newark Post, will help make members of the UD and Newark communities aware of the new signals and changed responsibilities for both drivers and pedestrians.

“We hope that people exercise some patience while drivers and pedestrians get acclimated to the new traffic patterns,” Lemin said. “In the end, this should really benefit everyone and help traffic conditions throughout the city.”

The installation of the new signals is a result of a collaborative effort between the city of Newark, the University of Delaware, WILMAPCO (Wilmington Area Planning Council) and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Lemin said.

“This is a good example of cooperation between UD, the city and DelDOT,” Lemin said. “This should be better for UD and for Newark.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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