Blue Mountain seeks safer crossing for patrons

Barbara Green, president of Blue Mountain Resort, has asked Lower Towamensing Township for help in getting a crosswalk, traffic signals or signs on Blue Mountain Drive.

Her goal is to create a safer area for pedestrians to cross from the eastern parking lot over to the resort.

“In my opinion, someone is going to get hurt. This is a public safety issue,” she said. “If a kid gets hurt crossing this thing, I’m going to be sick.”

Green said there are about 20 days a year when parking overflows into the eastern parking lot. On those busy days, she said she has staff put up flares to alert drivers as they approach the area, and staff, who are trained in traffic control, out there to help patrons.

She also had purchased signs and flashing lights to get traffic to slow down through that area, but was told by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that she isn’t allowed to use it.

Green said what she would like to see happen is for crosswalks to be placed on the road and the speed limit lowered to 35 mph. She said the curves on Blue Mountain Road are already lowered to 25 and 35 mph.

Chairman of the Supervisors Brent Green asked why the resort can’t just put in place for its ski season the same measures it has for special events.

“The major difference is I can’t tell you when it’s going to snow. Tell me when it’s going to snow and I’ll tell you when there’s going to be a traffic issue,” she said. “The weather has been more erratic than ever. At a ski resort, we are at the whim of Mother Nature.”

Green said she is willing to talk with PennDOT about a solution, but would like to have the support of the supervisors.

“I can’t do this by myself. I need your support,” she said.

Supervisor Ronald Walbert said he thinks a traffic study would be needed in order to pursue any changes, and he supports being involved in a meeting with PennDOT and the resort.

“If you don’t try, you don’t know,” he said.

Brent Green said he doesn’t think PennDOT is going to be willing to do a traffic study, but he is willing to help facilitate a meeting with them.

The solicitor for the township, James Nanovic, told the supervisors he thinks they should work with Green to have a meeting with PennDOT, but he also said thinks PennDOT probably will not change the speed limit there.

Nanovic said that when a traffic study is done, they look at the numbers. If people are going a certain speed safely on a routine basis, then PennDOT doesn’t have justification to lower it.

“When people are going 55, they won’t lower it to 35,” he said.

Barbara Green said she is willing to help pay for a traffic study; she would even be willing to help pay for turning lanes or some other solution to slow down traffic in that area.

“I do what I can to protect the public,” she said. “Public safety is number one all throughout the resort.”