Pedestrian safety upgrades underway

pair of municipalities and the university have joined forces to make the Rosedale Avenue Corridor safer for pedestrians.

West Goshen Township, the Borough of West Chester and the West Chester University Foundation are splitting the cost of the improvements three ways. All three entities seek grant funding.

Motorists will also benefit from improvements that West Goshen Solicitor Kristin S. Camp said were “a long time coming.”

“We’re trying to work together making the Rosedale Avenue Corridor as safe as possible for pedestrians, cyclists and to improve the flow of vehicular traffic,” said Michael Cotter, West Chester Borough Manager. “We want to make it better for everyone.”

The High Street and Rosedale Avenue intersection is often crowded with students.

Phase I of the improvements start this summer.

Left hand turn lanes for Rosedale Avenue motorists headed to High Street and at New Street will be lengthened and restriped.

Two parking meters will be removed by the borough to facilitate the changes.

During the next two or three years, the traffic signal at High Street and Rosedale Avenue will also be adjusted, possibly to allow a controlled pedestrian crossings at designated times, when no cars are in motion.

Temporary waist-high fences and new signage is slated for installation this summer to keep

jaywalkers from crossing at the corners. Fences will go up in front of Wayne Hall to the crosswalk immediately east and from the Church and Rosedale intersection to the crosswalk immediately to the west.

“It will eliminate mid-block crossings that aren’t safe,” Cotter said. “A barrier will make it a lot harder for people to walk across Rosedale wherever they want. We’ll make people very aware of places to cross and not to cross.”

The university is currently researching which type of fencing would be appropriate.

“We don’t want to create an eyesore,” said Mark Pavlovich, vice president for advancement and research and sponsored programs. “We want to help direct student traffic to crosswalks.”

The university will increase awareness and educate incoming freshmen. Police might also enforce the rules. Planners refer to creating such a safety plan as “training the intersection.”

For phase II, The foundation might pay the cost to install more formal pedestrian crossings and additional traffic calming devices.

Separate university land development plans call for a new signal at Church and Rosedale and a second new signal at North Campus Drive and New. A signal upgrade is also planned for the New and Rosedale intersection.

Richard Przywara, foundation executive director, said that the foundation will “contribute and participate on behalf of the university” since tuition dollars are not allowed to finance such improvements.

“Since the university can’t put in its own money, we’re going to pay the university’s share,’ he said. “Student safety is everybody’s primary concern.”

PHOTOS BY BILL RETTEW JR.-DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Improvements to make the Rosedale Avenue Corridor safer for pedestrians start this summer. New crosswalks and traffic calming devices might be added to the Rosedale Avenue Corridor to make the street cutting through campus safer for pedestrians.

Improvements to make the Rosedale Avenue Corridor safer for pedestrians start this summer. New crosswalks and traffic calming devices might be added to the Rosedale Avenue Corridor to make the street cutting through campus safer for pedestrians.