The State College Borough Council has decided to place speed limit signs along East Prospect Avenue, Hamilton Avenue and Pugh and Garner streets to University Drive.

The request for street signs came in after a 6-year-old boy was nearly slammed into by a car driving along East Prospect Avenue.

The mother, along with the neighborhood, decided it was time to take action and asked the council to place speed limit signs on her street and on others where speeding ocurrs in the borough.

It is high time that the borough took action with this life-threatening issue.

As the mother of the boy said, students are not always looking out for children, who are small and not as noticeable as adults, crossing the street and with the way people drive here in this area, it is sometimes a potentially dangerous situation for both children and adults in the borough.

Speed limit signs reinforce the law and at least make drivers more aware of the laws when they can pass a sign that blatantly informs them about that limit.

Although a sign can not physically slow drivers down, it certainly has the potential to bring the driver's speed to his or her awareness.

Jeff Kern, the chairperson for the Commission for Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, said the speed limit throughout the borough is 25 miles per hour, but it is not enforceable unless there are marked signs where drivers can be sure not to miss them. Putting signs up will also help police enforce the law and find and ticket perpetrators who may be putting themselves and pedestrians at risk.

Increasing police presence among borough streets could help the problem and compliment the signs.

The borough has done traffic counts to find speed averages on various roads in the community.

They found the average speed to be about 35 miles per hour.

The streets in State College are highly traveled and speed limits need to be enforced for the safety of the overall public.

As well as a high traffic area, State College is a heavily pedestrian filled town.

The borough also considered an idea from the Commission for Pedestrian and Traffic Safety to give pedestrian lead time at stop lights.

The lead time may be three to five seconds more, but giving that extra time will allow pedestrians for safer means when crossing the street.

Many stoplights opposite from each other change from red to green simultaneously, not allowing pedestrians enough time to safely get themselves across the street.

Although the 6-year-old boy was relatively unharmed, the mother and her fellow community members said they are not targeting college students, but all drivers.

Adding these signs will better the community and adding safety for the children students and residents of the State College area is definitely a good idea.