Digital signs help slow traffic outside Wyoming Seminary Lower School

Digital signs installed this past September on Wyoming Avenue that remind drivers to slow down as they pass Wyoming Seminary Lower School have reduced speeding in the area, Forty Fort Mayor Brian Thomas said.

“We definitely know people have slowed down because the speed minders don’t just remind people, they actually collect traffic data even if the sign is turned off,” Thomas explained when he spoke with the Times Leader earlier this month. “We can tell you what the high, low and average speed is in 15 minute increments around the clock.”

The signs, which flash orange when someone is driving over 35 miles an hour, were paid for by Wyoming Seminary. The borough will be responsible for maintenance of the signs and ongoing monitoring.

According to Thomas, the project was a great example of the positive impact that partnerships, like the one between Forty Fort and Wyoming Seminary, have on the community.

“Everyone came together to solve a problem at no extra cost to the taxpayers,” he said.

Drivers speeding down Wyoming Avenue, especially in front of Wyoming Seminary, has been an ongoing issue that the borough has routinely received complaints about for years.

A PennDOT traffic study conducted last year confirmed drivers’ speeds in that area well exceeded 35 miles an hour.

“We had a number of near misses and accidents with people dropping off their kids at school,” said Thomas.

Head of Wyoming Seminary Lower and Middle School Kathleen Hanlon also said there have been several accidents outside of the school due to speeding.

“A student and his dad were in an accident right out front and the car was hit from behind,” she explained.

Although it was a minor collision and no one was seriously hurt, Forty Fort and Wyoming Seminary have been in talks for a while to mitigate the risk of future accidents to students and their families.

Because municipal police officers in Pennsylvania are not permitted to use radar guns to detect a driver’s speed, Forty Fort Assistant Police Chief Adam Michaels said the department’s “hands were tied” when it came to enforcing the speed limit in that area.

However, when he and Police Chief Daniel Hunsinger went to a recent Chief of Police Association conference, they were introduced to the digital speed signs.

Michaels did a lot of research on the signs and the department eventually chose Traffic Logix, a company that specializes in safety solutions to prevent road accidents, to supply them.

“They’re completely customizable and they’re the only digital speed signs that record speed data,” he explained.

Michaels said having access to that data will help the department better monitor the area.

Since they were installed more than a month ago, both Michaels and Hanlon said speed on Wyoming Avenue has noticeably decreased.

“You can see the people decelerating,” Halon said. “My office looks out onto Wyoming Avenue and you can see people slowing down.”

Wyoming Seminary Director of Facilities and Operations Janet Murray said the families’ response to the addition of the signs has been positive.

“Parents are very thankful for the efforts we do for safety on Wyoming Avenue,” Murray said.

Right now, the signs are programmed to warn drivers if they are traveling above 35 miles an hour. In the future, Thomas said the borough plans to program them to warn people if they’re going over 15 miles an hour during the school day.