Actions to increase traffic awareness will soon take effect almost one year after the State College Borough Council focused on pedestrian safety as a primary concern in the community.

Borough Council decided putting up explanatory signs might be the most effective way to educate pedestrians and motorists about safety issues, Borough Council member Tom Daubert said.

"As soon as the weather breaks, the state will put signs between lanes," Daubert said. "Like on College Avenue, there will be four or five signs from Garner [Street] and Shortlidge [Avenue] -- down by McLanahan's [414 E. College Ave.] -- to Hammond Building."

Daubert said other than informing people by putting safety alerts on local government Web sites and in other community forums, there is little the borough can do.

"Everyone [jaywalks]. It is dangerous but we're not going to be able to stop it," he said. "The more important issue is for automobiles to understand they need to stop if pedestrians are in crosswalks. And pedestrians need to go by traffic signals and not run in front of traffic with a green light."

Daubert identified the intersection of Allen Street and West College Avenue as a place where jaywalking regularly occurs.

Jaywalking and other pedestrian and traffic laws are determined by municipal ordinance, said Jack Lewis, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman. There is nothing in the state crimes code about jaywalking, he said.

Students may continue to interact with motorists illegally because consequences for breaking these laws are rarely enforced.

"I've only seen citations [for jaywalking] once or twice," Junaina Gaylor, secretary for District Justice Carmine Prestia, said. Though citations have been issued, jaywalking culprits do not usually make it to court, she said.

Police agree that measuring the number of sanctions levied against violators underrepresented the danger of committing jaywalking-related offenses.

"I have issued [jaywalking citations] in the past," Lt. Tom Hart of the State College Police Department said. "Pedestrian walking and crossing streets in this town is a very important issue from a safety concern, and it rears its ugly head from time to time."

Jeremy Myers, a local resident, said he does not know anyone personally who has been cited for jaywalking.

"I've seen people hit by cars on bikes and crossing the street," he said. "[Police] should give more tickets for jaywalking."

Though Myers said jaywalkers should be cited, he is not sure how to enforce the laws. "It's as hard to solve as traffic on Beaver and College [Avenue]," he said. "Nothing's been done about that."

Though police cannot be everywhere at once, officers are posted at specific problem areas at the beginning of each semester, Daubert said. However, after a few weeks, disregard for traffic laws resumes, he said.

Daubert said people run across the block of Atherton Street near the Atherton Hotel, 125 S. Atherton St., frequently, but enforcement would be tough.

"[The police] can't just cite everybody," he said. "It won't work."

There have not been any serious jaywalking-related accidents downtown, Daubert said. The most recent fatality was in October, when a woman was killed near the Ramada Inn, 1450 S. Atherton St., when she crossed the street at night.

Text Box: State College Jaywalking Laws

Use a sidewalk if one is provided. It is unlawful to walk on a roadway where a sidewalk is available.

Yield to all vehicles on the roadway if crossing at any point other than a crosswalk.

Do not leave a curb or place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute a hazard.

Do not cross an intersection diagonally.

Source: The Advisory Task Force for Pedestrian Safety Education