New lights smooth traffic flow

3:30 p.m., Sept. 9, 2003--Newark police officers are continuing their efforts to make sure drivers and pedestrians comply with the new traffic lights on South College Avenue at the Kent Way and Amstel Avenue intersections.

Lt. Thomas Le Min, Newark Police traffic division commander, said that one or two officers at a time are being assigned at the intersections between 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, a time during which pedestrian traffic can exceed 1,000 persons per hour, especially between classes and during the lunch hour.

Three officers were assigned on Wednesday, Sept. 1, the first day of classes, Le Min added.

The primary role of the officers, he said, is to educate the pedestrians to obey the pedestrian crossing signals.

“Our officers can generally accomplish this by instructing the pedestrians to wait for the light to change,” Le Min said. “Occasionally, drivers have experienced some confusion regarding whether or not they have a duty to stop. In such cases, the officers manually direct drivers through the intersection.”

Some pedestrians have remarked that they hadn’t noticed the lights and have even asked when they were installed, Le Min said, adding that most of the efforts made by the police so far have been of an educational nature.

“So far, we have not had to resort to much enforcement,” Le Min said. “There have been a few pedestrians who have disregarded the officers’ directions and have been cited. Likewise, several vehicles have been cited for making illegal left turns at the intersection of Amstel Avenue and South College Avenue.”

Le Min said positive feedback includes comments from four UD bus drivers who commented that the new lights have enabled them to keep on schedule, even during the mid-day rush.

The presence of Newark Police officers at the two locations is the result of a 30-day federal grant issued through the Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

“We plan to continue the program as needed, until the end of September,” Le Min said. “We will continue to monitor the progress of pedestrians and motorists in adapting to these new signals and will adapt our efforts accordingly.”

Other heavy traffic areas

Le Min also said that Newark Police continue to work with UD Police in an effort to control pedestrian traffic at the intersections of Elkton Road and Amstel Avenue, and College Avenue and East Main Street.

Pedestrian traffic continues to be a problem at the intersection of South College Avenue and East Main Street, because of volume, and the issue was forwarded to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) for input and assistance.

“DelDOT has been very responsive to concerns that we raised to them after observing the traffic patterns on the first day of [fall] classes,” Le Min said. “They sent a traffic engineer and a signal crew to make immediate adjustments and have sent a sign crew to make further changes.”

Le Min recommends that both drivers and pedestrians take the time to acclimate to the new traffic signals and the presence of thousands of students who arrived on campus Aug. 31 for the start of the fall semester.

“We have only just started the semester, and we fully expect it to take some time for drivers and pedestrians to get used to such a radical change on one of Newark’s busiest streets,” Le Min said. “We hope that the greater University community can have a little patience as we work through these changes.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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