By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Every driver traveling in the north end of Sea Isle City this summer surely has seen them. Spaced about a block apart are a multitude of waist-high signs in the middle of Landis Avenue that alert motorists to stop for pedestrians crossing the street.
While driving back and forth between Sea Isle and Ocean City on Monday, local resident Anne Organ counted them. Altogether, there are 30 of the signs along Landis Avenue between First Street and 29th Street, she said.
Organ, who lives on 39th Street in Sea Isle, wonders why there are so many pedestrian crossing signs on Landis Avenue and none on Central Avenue between 29th and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Now, she is asking Sea Isle officials to remove some of the signs from Landis Avenue and place them on Central Avenue.
She brought the issue to the attention of the City Council members during their meeting Tuesday and received a promise that the police department will look into it.
Council President J.B. Feeley told Organ that the matter will be referred to Police Chief Tom McQuillen.
“Any time we receive an inquiry from the public, we look into it. Certainly, we’ll take her concerns under advisement,” McQuillen said of Organ in an interview after the Council meeting.
Organ believes there are simply too many signs on the stretch of Landis Avenue between First and 29th streets. She questioned why there are none on Central Avenue between 29th Street and JFK Boulevard.
She believes that by removing some of the signs along Landis Avenue, it would improve traffic flow there because motorists would not slow down each time they approach one.
“All of the people are stopping or slowing down,” she said in an interview.
On the flip side, pedestrian safety would improve on Central Avenue if some of the crossing signs were placed there, she said.
The signs make it clear that motorists are required by state law to stop when pedestrians are in the crosswalk. On Tuesday afternoon, some cars would slow down or come to a complete stop at the signs, even when there were no pedestrians.
Cape May County controls Landis Avenue, while Central Avenue is part of Sea Isle’s road network. Sea Isle Business Administrator George Savastano explained to Organ that it was the county that put all the pedestrian crossing signs on Landis.
The pedestrian crossing signs appeared this summer after the county restriped the Landis Avenue-Commonwealth Avenue corridor between Sea Isle and Strathmere to make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. During the summer, the corridor gets crowded with motorists, pedestrians and bikers all sharing the same space on a road that runs next to the beaches.
McQuillen said he plans to talk to county officials to see if any extra signs that may have been left over from the restriping of Landis Avenue could be used for Central Avenue.
In a related matter, Organ also told Council that some of the traffic lines running down the center of Central Avenue have faded and are barely visible.
After hearing Organ’s remarks, McQuillen said he immediately texted Sea Isle’s traffic maintenance supervisor to inspect Central Avenue to see if the lines should be repainted.
