The Borough of Macungie has announced it is investing in pedestrian safety through their “Safe Passage” initiative. The initiative is mutli-faceted with design improvements at crosswalks along with ongoing police enforcement targeting crosswalks.

The “Safe Passage” initiative will make improvements to the crosswalk warning signs by allowing pedestrians to operate a user-activated crossing system. The system, upon activation, will blink lights on the crosswalk warning signs to warn drivers a pedestrian is about to cross.

“This will be extremely beneficial for our resident walkers who cross Main Street at dusk,” Macungie Borough Council President Ron Karboski said.

Stan Wojciechowski from Barry Isett and Associates Engineering along with Borough Manager John Brown will be coordinating the designs and construction.

Funding for the “Safe Passage” initiative will come specifically from the ARLE (Automated Red-Light Enforcement) grant.

The other important component will be enforcement. Before any improvement projects, the Macungie Police Department will bring early focus on crosswalk safety.

Throughout the next few weeks, coordinated patrols will conduct increased speed and crosswalk safety enforcement at targeted areas throughout the borough. The concentrated campaign will span over several weeks particularly because schools are finishing up for the year and a large portion of their pedestrian traffic will be kids.

Karboski touts 22-year veteran Sgt. Travis Kocher of the Macungie Police Department as a tremendous partner with planning and agreeing this is a priority.

“If you violate our crosswalks, you should expect a response. I want the Main Street corridor to be safer for pedestrian traffic, period!” Kocher said.

Karboski said longtime residents know vehicle traffic is way up. Within the last 10 years the borough has experienced a significant increase in vehicle traffic, particularly on Main Street which is a thoroughfare for Route 100 travelers. Numerous commercial projects just outside the borough and new developments slated for completion within the next two years will only bring another level of traffic.

“Adding cellphone use while driving, it doesn’t surprise me the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said pedestrian fatalities increased by 46% from 2010 to 2019. I don’t want to be reactive. Proactive means talking about safety with the community and commuters by getting the word out with expectations. Drivers need to know crosswalks are where many pedestrian versus vehicle incidents happen and we take that very seriously. If it saves lives, it makes it all the work worth it,” Karboski said.