This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.
Cleona Borough Council considered several options to protect pedestrians crossing in front of G.F. Bowman at 201 W. Penn Ave. — including repainting crosswalks, adding new signage and, later on, installing signs with flashing lights when pedestrians are crossing.
Cleona Borough Police Chief Jeffrey Farneski said there was a crash at the location several hours before the Nov. 4 meeting. He said an employee was trying to cross the street when an oncoming car came to a sudden stop and was rear-ended.
Veronica Tobin, a call center manager at G.F. Bowman, said employees use a parking lot across the street and then cross 422 to get to the office building.
“People will literally drive around us missing us by inches, some by feet,” Tobin told LebTown over the weekend. “There’s actually one employee that refuses to drive to work because her husband is afraid that she’s going to get hit, so he takes her to work now.”
She said she would like the flashing crosswalk signs mentioned at the November meeting, but something needs to be done quickly.
“I hope that we can get something done because I don’t want anybody getting hit or getting hurt because this is a big safety issue,” she said.
At the meeting, borough manager Jonathan Johnson said they could approach the problem with a two-phase plan.
The borough can repaint crosswalks and add pedestrian crossing signs. Later on, he said they could add flashing signs, possibly paid for with grant funding.
Each sign would cost about $9,000 to $10,000, Johnson said.
Councilmember Tricia Springer said the signs — examples of which can be found down the road in Annville — are “very effective,” but council should also consider that people drive faster through Cleona.
“It’s much slower in Annville than it is in our section — we have a more dangerous section, but I really like those,” Springer said. “I think that would be amazing, especially if we could do it with a grant.
Johnson said addressing the problem is a priority, and the first phase could be completed within weeks or months.
“Pedestrian safety is very important,” he said. “We need to think about how to do this. I will do my due diligence to hopefully get some resources for those blinking lights.”
In other business, council unanimously:
- Approved donating $200 to the Humane Society of Lebanon County for four animals that were picked up and cared for from the Cleona area.
- Decided to advertise bids related to the borough building renovation project on Nov. 12 and Nov. 18. Council will hold a special meeting on Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. to compile final information before awarding bids by the end of the year. The borough plans on using its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project, and the money must be allocated by the end of 2024.
Cleona Borough Council will have its next regular monthly meeting at 140 W. Walnut St. on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
More Top Stories
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
