Case made for Sans Souci improvements to help visually impaired

NANTICOKE —Walking across the hyper-busy, four lane Sans Souci Parkway anywhere near Hanover Area High School is dangerous in the best of conditions. On Tuesday morning three local students with visual impairments got to give their first-hand account of just how hard it can be for them, especially at night.

Anthony Basilio, Bianca Buchanan and Shelby Shuma participated in a meeting with state and local officials, including newly-appointed state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, at Luzerne County Community College to give their perspectives on a few specific problems. While all three are from different schools — Wilkes-Barre Area, Greater Nanticoke Area and Hanover Area respectively — they all participate in the Luzerne Intermediate Unit’s visual impairment program, hosted at LCCC.

Nanci Romanyshyn, a certified orientation and mobility specialist who teaches the visually impaired, introduced the students and three videos showing the highlighted problems: A lack of any pedestrian crossing support at the Hanover Mall, outdated pedestrian crossing arrangements outside Hanover Area High school, and the lack of any walkway on either side for much of the distance from Wilkes-Barre to Nanticoke.

Basilio noted that he generally does not have any problems walking in daylight, but has a much harder time at night, and encouraged lit crosswalks painted with “ladder crossing” markings — two thinner lines running perpendicular to the road from one side to the other, with thicker lines running parallel to the road. The addition of the long lines helps visually impaired people stay in the cross walk, unlike “continental” style pedestrian crossing lines that only have the short thicker lines running parallel to the road.

He also noted a problem most would overlook regarding a sidewalk along Alta Road, across from the high school. While the crossings of both Alta Road and the Sans Souci had continental markings and the sidewalk had ramps, the ramps did not align squarely with the crosswalks. The ramps include “truncated domes,” pads right near the start of the road that have small raised bumps to, among other things, let visually impaired people sense they are making the transition from sidewalk to a road.

Basilio showed the obvious in an overhead image: A person walking in a straight line from the truncated domes would end up in the middle of the intersection. Assuring the domes are perfectly square with cross walks means a person will be properly oriented while crossing a roadway.

The video also showed a pedestrian crossing sign meant for drivers that was obscured by tree branches. Another featured an interview with a woman walking her child along the parkway to get to Lee Park Elementary. The child had missed the school bus, and the lack of full walkways or walk lanes along the side of the road made the trek more dangerous.

A video included some of the students demonstrating how difficult it can be to cross the parkway at the Hanover Mall, where there are no markings at all and no pedestrian crossing signaling devices. Part of the problem, Romanyshyn said, is inconsistencies of where the Luzerne County Transportation Authority bus service, which the students use, drops people off near the mall.

Romanyshyn and the students urged that cross walks be lit with solar-powered lighting that could save money while still helping visually impaired people see their way at night. She said the Hanover Mall would best be fixed with a large pedestrian island in the middle of the road. They also noted that even when pedestrian signal devices have been installed along the Parkway, the time allowed to cross is often too short, and a video showed one button a pedestrian was suppose to push set up behind a guard rail and out of reach.

Romanyshyn said she realizes a concrete walkway along the road would be cost-prohibitive — one estimate says it would add $4 million to a massive Sans Souci redesign in the works. But lower cost alternatives — like a wider, paved shoulder with rumble strips that notify a driver when they are veering off the road — could still save lives.

The redesign, with work set to begin in 2025, was a big reason for the meeting, Romanyshyn said. The students and the teachers who worked with them to create some of the video want to make sure their concerns are considered as plans are drawn up. They also suggested the township and state consider some interim steps to make crossing or walking along the parkway safer until the redesign is complete.