Concerned Mom Criticizes Rt. 412 Traffic in Borough

A concerned mother of a Saucon Valley student told Hellertown Borough Council Monday that heavy traffic has made her afraid to cross Main Street to reach her daughter's bus stop.

Rebecca Walser, who lives in the 1500 block on the east side of Main Street, said she and her daughter are forced to walk between cars and trucks when crossing Route 412.

Her daughter's bus stop is located on Whitaker Street, which is on the opposite side of Main, she explained.

"It’s been twice now in the past two weeks that we've almost gotten hit by cars. They don’t see us coming," Walser said.

“It’s becoming dangerous for the school kids," she added. "We've seen cars running red lights because they can’t wait to get through."

Congestion along the Route 412 corridor at Hellertown's north end has worsened in recent weeks, as a new phase of construction related to a multi-million-dollar widening project has gotten under way.

Police Chief Robert Shupp responded to Walser's concerns and said he would approach PennDOT about funding to pay for a police officer to be stationed at one of the intersections during the busiest times of the day, which were identified as 8 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.

Without help from the state, "we just don't have the manpower to sit there," Shupp said.

He added that in addition to helping pedestrians cross the street safely, he would like to see an officer stationed there for enforcement purposes.

Councilman Tom Rieger told Walser he would contact the Saucon Valley School District about arranging a school bus pickup location on the east side of Main Street, so she and her daughter won't need to cross the street at all.

Walser also noted that she and her daughter have encountered rudeness from some motorists frustrated by the slow-moving traffic on Route 412.

And although the current school year is almost at an end, "when the next school year starts and this is still going on, people are probably going to be even more frustrated, because (the road work has) been going on so long," she said.

Another resident of the borough's north end agreed with Walser's assessment of some of the motorists, and said they have both witnessed dangerous speeding in alleys that parallel Main Street.

"We get people flying up and down our alleyways all day long," Alicia Kichline said. "We have numerous kids in our neighborhood and I've watched kids almost get hit every day."

Shupp said he agreed that speeding in the alleys is a problem.

He told Walser that he planned to station an officer at Main and High streets Tuesday morning, to help her cross the street and to monitor the traffic in the area.