After only a week of use, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has deemed the pedestrian right-of-way signs placed in various intersections on College and Beaver avenues unsafe.

Mark Whitfield, director of public works, told State College Borough Council last night that PennDOT has withdrawn permission for the borough to use the signs at intersections with traffic signals because they give pedestrians a false sense of security while crossing the street. The orange and white signs were placed in the center of crosswalks Monday through Friday last week.

An e-mail message Whitfield received from PennDOT stated that pedestrians might believe they have the right of way even when the traffic signal reads "don't walk," he said. He added that the signs were often knocked over by buses and delivery trucks as they made wide turns away from the curb.

Council member Tom Daubert said the signs were knocked over by residents in cars as well, and many people had complained that they were a nuisance to drivers.

"I have had more e-mails about them than anything else in the past six months," Daubert said.

Whitfield said PennDOT's decision is frustrating because his department already did the necessary studies to get approval for the signs at the signalized intersections, and now it must do the same studies for crosswalks at intersections without red lights.

Council member Janet Knauer said something has to be done to minimize the conflict between pedestrians and vehicles, and she hopes PennDOT approves the use of the signs in some capacity.

"I think they do give a ray of hope to those pedestrians that want to cross the street," Knauer said.

Whitfield said the signs are owned by the state and cost the borough nothing. However, council's capital improvement program, which was approved last night as a tentative five-year spending plan for various projects in the borough, includes money for a traffic light to cut down on problems at the intersection of Beaver Avenue and Locust Street, he added.

Daubert said that no matter where red lights or right-of-way signs are placed, it is nearly impossible to get people to cross the street legally. He added that even more aggressive ticketing of jaywalkers by police is not feasible.

"We would have to cite hundreds of people a day," Daubert said.

Whitfield said the borough gave a presentation last spring on how to walk safely in State College, and it places pamphlets on the subject in busses and move-in packets at apartment complexes. However, problems persist and there is no easy solution, he added.