Safety issues persist at Westmoreland Heritage Trail crossing in Murrysville
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Every few months — but especially as winter rolls over into spring and warmer weather — a particular topic pops up in Murrysville-area social media posts and comment threads: the areas where the Westmoreland Heritage Trail crosses major roads.
“Somebody is going to die sooner rather than later,” said Diana Altieri Hand of Murrysville. “I’ve lived there for a long time, and I recognize the difference in the traffic. There is way too much traffic on that road for those crossings.”
Hand lives near the area that gets mentioned most often: where the trail crosses Meadowbrook Road and Trafford Road in southwestern Murrysville.
“The police have put stuff out there about this. The (newspapers) have printed stories. But it’s still a big problem,” Hand told Murrysville Council on Wednesday night.
According to state law, drivers on the main road have the right of way unless a trail user is already in the crosswalk. Both trail and PennDOT signage also direct trail users to stop before crossing the road.
State-installed lights facing drivers will flash yellow when trail users are within 25 feet of the intersection — a signal that is to be treated like any other flashing yellow light: proceed with caution.
“People misunderstand what the flashing yellow lights mean, and so many people stop,” Hand said.
Hand, council members and Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said both drivers and trail users frequently misunderstand or do not follow the traffic controls.
“She’s right,” Morrison said. “We have police patrolling the trail on a somewhat regular basis, and we have public education out there everywhere. I don’t know what else to do.”
The intersection is complicated further by drivers turning onto Trafford Road from Meadowbrook, which runs parallel to the trail, as well as the small hill that prevents northbound drivers on Trafford Road from seeing the traffic conditions until they begin heading back downhill toward the trail crossing.
Jan Beckage, who lives nearby, said she “constantly hears brakes squealing because a car has stopped to wave someone through. And there are cars coming the other direction with no idea this is happening.”
“Meadowbrook Road has a stop sign along the trail, and cyclists ride past like it’s not even there,” Beckage said.
Westmoreland Heritage Trail President Stan Rudge told council that trail officials have made every effort to increase awareness of how the crossings should be properly used.
“Last year, we got a grant to assist in safety and courtesy along the trail,” Rudge said. “We placed sandwich boards along the trail that say ‘Stop, Look & Listen’ in addition to the stop signs and flashing yellow lights.”
Volunteers try to help
Murrysville resident Donna Bankoske offered to form a small volunteer committee to be on hand at the crossings to talk with cyclists and pedestrians.
“It could help, even if it’s just for a few weeks,” Bankoske said. “The trail gets a lot of use, including a lot of people who come from far away and don’t know the area.”
Rudge said anyone interested in helping can become part of the trail’s ambassador program, where volunteers monitor a section of trail and report issues to trail officials.
Hand said when she approached PennDOT officials about additional signage, she was told that the signage was accurate and that local police should issue citations.
Hand and Morrison both felt that would be a waste of time and resources.
“We typically have three officers on patrol throughout the municipality at any given time,” Morrison said. “I think it’d be a waste of resources, because it’s ignorance on the part of people using the trails and people on the road.”