After a prolonged discussion regarding pedestrian-traffic safety, State College Borough Council has taken action to improve safety.

At last night's meeting, the council unanimously decided to reinstate the Traffic Regulation Advisory Committee. They also approved the Borough of State College Public Awareness Campaign for Pedestrian Safety.

The Traffic Regulation and Advisory Committee was originally established to aid in communication between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and borough officials, said Jeff Kern, the chairperson for the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Commission.

The committee would consist of representatives from various townships, representatives from PennDOT, and also state officials, if possible, Kern said.

"I would certainly recommend that we get as many political forces involved in such a committee as possible," he added.

The committee formerly had some success in the borough, such as determining acceptable speed limits and putting up the appropriate signs and also experimenting with different types of traffic lights, Kern said.

The primary function of the committee had formerly been using politics to find a way around PennDOT "roadblocks" that hindered increased pedestrian-traffic safety, Kern added.

The main concern of the committee would be the timing of traffic and the traffic lights, he said.

The committee originally dissolved due to the retirement of borough staff and council members, Kern added.

At the meeting, the council also passed a public awareness campaign to increase pedestrian safety. The campaign was a proposal to increase safety through education, engineering and law enforcement. The proposal was given to the council by the State College Police Department.

The campaign will officially begin on July 1; however, the police department will work as quickly as possible to develop the program, Police Chief Tom King said. King stressed the importance of being careful to not implement the campaign too hastily.

"The message will be too confusing to the public if we throw this together too quickly," King said.

The key to the campaign will be the involvement of all State College citizens, council member Catherine Dauler said. The program is a positive start to what will be a continuous campaign for safety, she said.

"The idea, at least I hope, is that this will be a message that will be ongoing," Dauler added.

Council member Janet Knauer agreed that the problem of pedestrian-traffic safety is not something that will have an immediate end.

"We're addressing problems that have existed for a long time and will continue to exist," Knauer said.

It is important, however, that the council works to make State College safer for both pedestrians and motorists, she added.