Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By STEPHANIE BOMBAY
Thursday, January 27, 2000 Page: 7
sbombay@leader.net The first time I approached the intersection of Kidder
and Scott streets in Wilkes-Barre as a driver, I was 16. I had my license for
a few months, but had avoided this place like the plague.
The intersection’s traffic light had only one left-turn signal, so turning
was difficult and something to avoid.
But tonight I had no choice. I was meeting friends at the Wyoming Valley
Mall and my alternate route would take too long. I would have to take Scott
from the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre.
As I approached, the light turned red and I pulled into the left-turn lane
and shifted the manual transmission into first gear. I kept one eye on the
oncoming traffic and the other on the traffic signal. I knew what to do.
As soon as the light changed I would lift my right foot from the brake onto
the gas and slowly the left from the clutch.
If I timed it just right I should make it through before the approaching
traffic hit me.
Then the lights changed and I hesitated. I don’t know why, but I did. I
tried to compensate and began to turn left, only to stop with the wail of a
car horn.
I slammed on the brakes and the car stalled. I restarted the car and sat
there as a parade of cars went past me. Some drivers blew their horns and
waved their hands, others looked at me with sympathetic eyes, because they too
had been trapped like I was at some time.
Soon the light turned yellow, then red and traffic from Kidder Street began
to flow. Some of those drivers, too, honked, because my parents’ red Taurus
partially blocked their path.
After about five of the longest minutes of my life, the light turned green
again and I was able to turn left onto Kidder Street and make it to the mall.
It has been nearly eight years since the first time I navigated that
intersection and not much has changed. And, according to the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation, I am not alone.
The spider-web crossing has been the site of countless near-misses and some
hits.
There were 31 accidents from at that intersection between 1994 to 1998; 35
people were injured in 20 of those accidents, PennDOT statistics show.
I have been trapped in that location numerous times. Coming from other
directions have been equally harrowing.
Attempting a left turn onto Scott while traveling north on Kidder Street
can be difficult for a seasoned driver, because there is no left-turn signal
on the traffic light.
Drivers must wait until drivers — traveling south on Kidder — proceed. It
can take two or three light changes before a path is clear. Driving straight
on Kidder can be difficult as well, because drivers with a left-turn signal on
Kidder do not stop driving when they lose that right-of-way signal.
Approaching the intersection on Scott northbound — state route 309 North
— drivers have three options. They can veer to the right and proceed onto
Kidder. The only traffic regulator here is a yield sign, that is too often
ignored or not seen.
Many times, drivers making the left turn from southbound Scott Street are
forced out of their lanes to avoid a car that did not yield.
Another option is to continue straight on Scott into Parsons and avoid the
drivers trying to make the left turn. The final choice is turning left onto
Kidder, with no arrow and heavy traffic; few drivers take this route.
The final element of this intersection is coming south on Kidder — state
route 309 south. Just before the intersection a right-turn-only lane takes
drivers onto northbound Scott Street and into Parsons.
The left-hand lane offers a turn signal for drivers heading toward Scott
Street/309 south. Finally, a driver can proceed straight onto Kidder Street.