Pottsville officials are working to find funding to upgrade the traffic and walk/don't walk signals at the intersection where a blind man suffered injuries in an accident Sept. 17, 2013.
That man, The Rev. Darnell Golphin, 58, of Schuylkill Haven, said the accident at Laurel Boulevard and North Centre Street could have been prevented if an audio walk signal helped him decide when to cross.
City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Tuesday that's one of the features the city would like to add. This month, the city will apply for "more than $200,000" in state Automated Red Light Enforcement funds for the project.
"Fantastic," Golphin said Tuesday when he heard the news.
"When we talk about upgrading an intersection, we're talking about upgrading every working component in that intersection that directs pedestrians and traffic. I'm here 14 years, and the last time such upgrades were done was well before I got here. I'd say maybe it's been more than 20 years," Palamar said.
Aside from audible walk/don't walk signals, Palamar is hoping the city can afford new traffic signals and, for the first time, left-hand turn signals on Laurel Boulevard.
"Right now, if you're on Laurel at this intersection, you'll see it's difficult to make a left-hand turn there. You just have to hope that you can get through," Palamar said.
In 2012, the city received ARLE funds to help finance upgrades to the traffic signals at the intersection at 12th and West Market streets.
The $306,851 project includes the installation of four new traffic poles with overhead signal lights, four pedestrian signals and curb cuts to accommodate wheelchair users. The city financed that project with $148,847 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds and $158,004 in state ARLE grant funds, Palamar said previously.
At its June meeting, the council gave Palamar permission to apply for an ARLE grant for an upgrade to the signals at Laurel and North Centre.
More than 9,300 vehicles travel through that intersection per day. There have been 16 accidents there since 2010. None involved fatalities, Palamar said.