Pocono News Section

Eyewitness News Helps Get Broken Signals Fixed

Eyewitness News Helps Get Broken Signals Fixed - Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 5:30PM EST

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- We all rely on pedestrian crossing signals at busy intersections to help us safely walk across the street. But when those signals are on the blink, walking becomes risky -- especially for people with disabilities. That’s exactly what happened in Scranton. So a visually impaired man turned to Eyewitness News to get some malfunctioning crossing signals fixed.
52-year-old Andrew Bauman has lived in downtown Scranton since March. He has tunnel vision, a condition that makes him legally blind. But his eyesight issues couldn't stop him from spotting a major problem in the Electric City. "I noticed that while I was out walking, a lot of the crossing signals for pedestrians weren't working," he said.

Andrew became aware of malfunctioning signals at 20 different intersections in Scranton -- many in the downtown -- making his daily walk difficult if not downright dangerous. "In downtown Scranton there are at least 4 or 5 buildings with people with handicaps -- visual, wheelchairs, crutches, canes -- and it's not safe to cross the streets when the lights aren't working," he said.

He decided to bring it to someone's attention. "The first time I just called the mayor's office and spoke with his secretary and she said we'll call the Department of Public Works and we'll get them right on it."

Andrew says she told him they'd be fixed that night, but the pedestrian signal problem persisted for 2-months.

He followed that up with another call and even a visit to Mayor Doherty's Wyoming Avenue campaign headquarters. "And I complained there, they called the mayor's office for me and they said it'd be taken care of," he recalled.

But 2 months later, still no fix, and that's when he decided Tuesday he'd go in a different direction. "I told the campaign person that I was having an interview with WBRE,” he said.

Within two hours, Andrew heard back from the city's private contractor and repair work began. "So if it wasn't for WBRE getting involved, I might still be going another month trying to get this fixed," he said.

Andrew and so many others can feel a lot safer now -- knowing his persistence paid off.

A Scranton traffic control repairman says city crews repaired about 2-dozen pedestrian crossing signals since Tuesday night. They'll finish the job, Thursday.