02/06/2018

Penn State Behrend sent out emails and other notifications during winter break to inform students and faculty of the new stops signs that have been put into place along college drive.  

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The stop signs, which were a new addition to Behrends campus for the spring 2018 semester, were put in place to slow down traffic in order to create a safer environment for pedestrians. However, the additional stop signs have created controversy among students.

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The new stop signs are all part of Penn State Behrend’s master facilities plan which looked at possibilities for expansion. One goal of the plan was to make Behrends campus more pedestrian friendly.  Randall Geering, Senior Director of Business Operations, stated, “We have a lot of vehicular pedestrian interaction and we want to lessen that,” when discussing reasons for the new stop signs.

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The new stop signs have received mixed reviews from students. Commuter students who drive to class daily noticed an immediate slow down in traffic. Sophomore nursing student. Joey Buczynski noted, “It now takes forever to get out of campus.” He added that it caused new inconveniences such as adding an extra 15 minutes of sitting in traffic. He also noted that there are few if no security cameras to record accidents that may occur with the new changes. Even with his dislikes of the new stop signs Buczynski conceded, “however, at least there is some sort of order and system for everyone to theoretically flow better.”

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Traffic flow is exactly what was wanted from business operations. The stop signs were put in places designed to give pedestrians exact places to cross. When discussing how to make the campus more pedestrian friendly, the answer was clear; slow down the traffic and add stop signs in the busy intersection. Geering stated, “We have not heard complaints. I have heard positive feedback from students saying thank you for making it more friendly.” Geering isn’t wrong. Many students who step forward praise the new signs. Taylor Powell, a senior creative writing major commented, “I believe they create a safer environment for Penn State Behrend. It allows easier travel for pedestrians and safety for them as well.” She further explained how the stop signs give pedestrians a sense of security, taking out the guesswork as to whether a driver is going to stop and allow pedestrians to cross the road.

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Students aren’t the only ones affected by the new stop signs. Faculty has recently changed from parking in public lots instead of using student foot paths to park in secluded lots. Many of which have struggled alongside students with travel time, along with remembering the new stop sign placements. However, the reason for most students complaints with the stop signs adding to their travel time is not new.

“Stop signs don’t really affect this, or perhaps they do,” Geering said. “But during class changes there is traffic and we know that it is an issue, but there is no easy alternative or fix or else, we would have done it.” Geering explained that the issue comes back to Jordan Road and the problems Behrend has encountered with it. The business operations department was prepared to receive mixed emotions from students with the new stop signs. Geering commented that changes from one semester to another like this are uncommon, and that he would have been more surprised not to hear mixed comments.

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While student input was not acquired before the stop signs were put into place, there was active student involvement with the master plan which included members of Behrend Student Government. Geering emphasized, “We are here for students convenience,” and explained that if complaints continued and students really wanted to see the new stop signs removed, they could potentially ban together and petition Student Government for their removal.

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When asked about other plans, Geering discussed that students returning after the summer can possibly expect to see additional sidewalks on upper campus to accommodate the new students arriving in Trippe Hall, along with more stop signs to help direct traffic around the parking deck.