The State College Borough Council took action to place 25 mph signs along East Prospect Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, and Pugh and Garner streets to University Drive last night.

The request for the signs came from the council's work session Monday, Oct. 8, after one situation had occurred a week before on East Prospect Avenue.

Kate Delano-Poorman of the 500 block of East Prospect Avenue, said a car struck her son when he was coming home from playing.

"My 6-year-old son was crossing the street, where the alley connects to the East Fairmont Avenue Park," Delano-Poorman said. She said he watched a car pass from his left to his right, but because of the passing car's size or her son's height, he did not see the on-coming car from the right.

Luckily, the car was able to stop in time to not seriously injure her son.

"He had a cut on one of his knees and some bruises," Delano-Poorman said. "His hand prints were pretty high up on the car, so we knew he had been struck."

Delano-Poorman said their neighborhood decided to request the 25 mph signs because it is "something they can do right away."

"We have a lot of other work to do," Delano-Poorman said.

The other changes the neighborhood is requesting will be discussed at the work session on Oct. 23. The requests include a "watch children" sign, no left-turns, speed tables, and a narrowing of the road that would slow traffic down.

"Council has a strong desire that people who live on the street don't have burdensome traffic," council member Elizabeth Goreham said.

Goreham said the borough has done traffic counts to find the average speed along various roads in the community; the counts found the average speed to be 35 mph.

Throughout the borough the speed limit is 25 mph, but is not enforceable unless marked, according to Jeff Kern, the chairperson for the Commission for Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. Delano-Poorman spoke to Police Chief Tom King, and she said he seemed very committed to enforcing the speed limit through their neighborhood.

The Commission for Pedestrian and Traffic Safety also recommended at the council meeting last night for pedestrian lead time at traffic signals throughout town. Pedestrian lead time allows for pedestrians to cross the street while all traffic lights are red, so pedestrians do not have to contend with traffic. The lead time may only be three to five seconds, Kern said, just enough time to get the pedestrian to the half-way mark across the street.

In the instance of Delano-Poorman's son, lead time would not have slowed the traffic going through the neighborhood.

"The reason we came before council was because our street has too much traffic and it goes too fast," Delano-Poorman said.

The 21-year-old driver who struck her son was "self-reportedly going 20 mph," but Delano-Poorman could not help but worry about other drivers going through the neighborhood.

"If you are a parent, you are a constantly looking at the side of the road for kids. Kids who will do unpredictable things," Delano-Poorman said. "Students may not think to look for the kids."

Delano-Poorman said their neighborhood was not targeting the college students, but all cars traveling through at dangerous speeds. She and her neighbors want to work with Penn State University and other student groups to make all members of the neighborhood aware of the children in the area.