Crossing the intersection at George and Frederick Street can be a perilous journey. With traffic back up and people turning right on red, students have to play ‘Frogger’ with their arms full of books. This situation will be greatly improved by the beginning of the fall 2009 semester.

“We will be improving the accessibility as well as the safety of the George and Frederick intersection,” said Greg Petruno, project manager of the Capital Construction, Contracting & Design office. “When students come back they will be greeted by a completely new intersection that will even tell them when to cross the street at the appropriate time.”

One of the new additions will be a push-button activated, audio/visual signal that will tell pedestrians when to cross. The voice that people will hear is development officer, Mark Duncan.  Along with the traditional symbols of a illuminated person walking or a red hand, Duncan will tell people when it is safe to cross as well as count down the seconds that they have left.

 “The audio is meant to improve accessibility for those who may be visually impaired.” said Petruno, “Along with the talking signals we will also program the intersection to have a scramble cycle.  This means that all cars will stop so that pedestrians can cross in all directions. There will be no more right turns allowed during red signals.”

During the summer sessions, work will be done in each individual lane and no intersection closings are planned.
Other parts of the project include East Fredrick Street  becoming a one way street, as well as the installation of a right hand turning lane at the intersection of W. Fredrick St. and Shenks Ln.

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