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Rock-throwers have no clue
Road Watch for April 25, w/ROAD RANT VIDEO
(Rock-throwers, Beware: It’s a deadly game deserving stiffer penalties.)
It was just a little blurb – or two-paragraph “wrap” as we call it in the newsroom – in Tuesday’s paper: “Stone-thrower hits windshield,” but it’s an issue that needs more attention and stronger penalties.
It never seems newsworthy until a driver or passenger is seriously or fatally injured. Fortunately, in the incident about 10:36 p.m. April 16 on I-95 in Ridley Township, a Swarthmore man wasn’t injured when a rock smashed his windshield. Some idiot had tossed a rock off the MacDade Boulevard overpass.
Years ago, there was a rash of such incidents off the numerous overpasses along I-95 in Chester, which eventually subsided. In June 2007, state police had investigated several incidents. Two juveniles dropped a rock off the Potter Street overpass, shattering a West Chester man’s sunroof, but he was spared injury.
Two other vehicles were damaged in another incident that month near Highland Avenue. Both cars were in the southbound lanes of I-95.
The latter incidents occurred between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Several years ago, five young men were arrested in North Carolina for throwing rocks from bridges onto I-95 in 24 separate incidents. The men damaged at least two dozen vehicles, but miraculously no one was injured. They were charged with misdemeanor injury to personal property. Fortunately, no one lost control of their car.
Last June in California, a Ventura woman’s skull was fractured by a rock thrown from a freeway overpass and required brain surgery. A softball-sized rock crashed through her car’s sunroof one night while her husband was driving north on Highway 101, according to the California Highway Patrol. The family offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the rock-thrower.
On Jan. 3, 2003, Dennis Gumbs, then 15, threw an 18-pound chunk of ice from a bridge on to U.S. Route 22 in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, killing Elaine C. Cowell, 33, in a minivan with her husband and three children. He was judged delinquent of third-degree murder and sentenced to a maximum-security juvenile facility. He was released in May 2008 when he turned 21.
These incidents of rock-throwing onto passing motorists below are a far cry from just a case of vandalism or criminal mischief. These rocks in the hands of juveniles or young adults are virtually lethal instruments of crime and anyone who throws them should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law – the least we can do in Elaine Cowell’s memory.
How about making such actions a felony, irregardless if no injury occurs? Don’t these rock-tossers realize what deadly consequences their actions can cause?
I can’t imagine how startling it must be to an innocent driver or his or her passengers when they become such defenseless targets.
Anyone who spots such suspicious activity should call 911 or state police immediately at 484-840-1000.
Road Rant of the Week
This week’s Road Rant from the Road Watcher focuses on my favorite road sign – “Limited Sight Distance” -- which I have never spotted during my travels in Delco, not saying there couldn’t be one.
However, I discovered this diamond-shaped, yellow sign, along with a “15 mph” square sign below it, while approaching a blind spot on an overpass on Bowman Avenue at Baird Road in Lower Merion, Montgomery County.
I’m sure there are many other blind spots on hills in the county that should have such a sign, but don’t!
For example, going west on Wynnewood Road as it becomes Eagle Road in Delco at Haverford Road in Haverford at the Route 100 High Speed Line overpass, there’s no such sign. But it’s a real blind spot before you go over the hill and suddenly see vehicles at the bottom of the hill, waiting in the turn lane to go left on to Earlington Road at the traffic light.
The cost of a measly sign surely wouldn’t break PennDOT’s budget.
Make sure you log on to the Road Watch blog to see this video.
In my travels, I’ll show you some other peculiar road signs in future columns. Do you know of any local roads that are in dire need of similar signs? Just e-mail me at the address below.
Welcome Center to Close
PennDOT will close the I-95 Welcome Center in Lower Chichester along I-95 North just north of the Pennsylvania/Delaware border for construction of a new expanded facility starting 6 a.m. May 1.
Signs were posted Friday to advise motorists of the rest stop’s upcoming closure. The site and its access ramps will be completely closed to the public for about one year.
The project will cost $5.9 million and is expected to finish by the May 1, 2011, opening date.
A new 8,500-square-foot building will have four total restrooms – two men’s and two ladies’—instead of the current total of two restrooms.
The current Welcome Center rest area building along I-95 North was opened in 1971 and the Welcome Center building was opened in 1990. It served about 133,000 visitors in 2009.
An electronic message board will advise motorists that food and fuel are available at the next two exits, which are Exit 1, Chichester Avenue, and Exit 2, Route 452 (Market Street). Restaurants and gas stations are located near these exits.
Ben Franklin Bridge Closing
The Ben Franklin Bridge will be closed to traffic in both directions 8-10 a.m. today for the annual New Jersey Chapter March of Dimes “March for Babies,” according to the Delaware River Port Authority.
Also, on Monday and Tuesday, the two right-hand westbound lanes will be closed between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for routine maintenance.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the two right-hand eastbound lanes will be closed between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for routine maintenance.
Bridge Inspections
Monday, the right lane will be closed on the Platt Bridge ramp to I-95 South 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for bridge inspections.
Thursday-Friday, the left lane will be closed on I-95 North between Island and Enterprise avenues 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
I-95 Bridge Work
I-95 motorists will face lane closures weekdays traveling over the Girard Point Bridge and Broad Street Viaduct for bridge construction during off-peak hours. The southbound right lane will be closed on the I-95/Broad Street Viaduct 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 9 p.m.-5 a.m. for concrete resurfacing.
On the nearby I-95/Girard Point Bridge, I-95 North/South will be reduced from three lanes to two 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 9 p.m.-5 a.m. weeknights for concrete resurfacing and bridge painting.
Traffic Delays
Baltimore Pike (Route 1) – Concord, road widening with lane closures between Brinton Lake and Evergreen roads 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. May 3.
Pennell Road (Route 452) -- Aston and Middletown, Sunoco pipeline repairs between Glendale Boulevard and Route 352, 8 p.m.-5 a.m. weekdays through May 6.
Chester Heights – Stoneybank Road, road widening with restrictions between Baltimore Pike and Great Oak Drive 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through April 30.
Radnor — Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli Road and Hunt Road for roadway reconstruction and realignment to remove a sharp curve through Aug. 21. Work began March 1. Goshen Road will be detoured over Darby-Paoli Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Route 3, Route 252 and Goshen Road.
Radnor — Radnor-Chester Road, Aqua utility installation, closed/detoured between Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 29.
Concord – Baltimore Pike, bridge replacement with lane restrictions on bridge over Chester Creek 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 2011. Work began September 2009.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) — Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.
(Rock-throwers, Beware: It’s a deadly game deserving stiffer penalties.)
It was just a little blurb – or two-paragraph “wrap” as we call it in the newsroom – in Tuesday’s paper: “Stone-thrower hits windshield,” but it’s an issue that needs more attention and stronger penalties.
It never seems newsworthy until a driver or passenger is seriously or fatally injured. Fortunately, in the incident about 10:36 p.m. April 16 on I-95 in Ridley Township, a Swarthmore man wasn’t injured when a rock smashed his windshield. Some idiot had tossed a rock off the MacDade Boulevard overpass.
Years ago, there was a rash of such incidents off the numerous overpasses along I-95 in Chester, which eventually subsided. In June 2007, state police had investigated several incidents. Two juveniles dropped a rock off the Potter Street overpass, shattering a West Chester man’s sunroof, but he was spared injury.
Two other vehicles were damaged in another incident that month near Highland Avenue. Both cars were in the southbound lanes of I-95.
The latter incidents occurred between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Several years ago, five young men were arrested in North Carolina for throwing rocks from bridges onto I-95 in 24 separate incidents. The men damaged at least two dozen vehicles, but miraculously no one was injured. They were charged with misdemeanor injury to personal property. Fortunately, no one lost control of their car.
Last June in California, a Ventura woman’s skull was fractured by a rock thrown from a freeway overpass and required brain surgery. A softball-sized rock crashed through her car’s sunroof one night while her husband was driving north on Highway 101, according to the California Highway Patrol. The family offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the rock-thrower.
On Jan. 3, 2003, Dennis Gumbs, then 15, threw an 18-pound chunk of ice from a bridge on to U.S. Route 22 in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, killing Elaine C. Cowell, 33, in a minivan with her husband and three children. He was judged delinquent of third-degree murder and sentenced to a maximum-security juvenile facility. He was released in May 2008 when he turned 21.
These incidents of rock-throwing onto passing motorists below are a far cry from just a case of vandalism or criminal mischief. These rocks in the hands of juveniles or young adults are virtually lethal instruments of crime and anyone who throws them should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law – the least we can do in Elaine Cowell’s memory.
How about making such actions a felony, irregardless if no injury occurs? Don’t these rock-tossers realize what deadly consequences their actions can cause?
I can’t imagine how startling it must be to an innocent driver or his or her passengers when they become such defenseless targets.
Anyone who spots such suspicious activity should call 911 or state police immediately at 484-840-1000.
Road Rant of the Week
This week’s Road Rant from the Road Watcher focuses on my favorite road sign – “Limited Sight Distance” -- which I have never spotted during my travels in Delco, not saying there couldn’t be one.
However, I discovered this diamond-shaped, yellow sign, along with a “15 mph” square sign below it, while approaching a blind spot on an overpass on Bowman Avenue at Baird Road in Lower Merion, Montgomery County.
I’m sure there are many other blind spots on hills in the county that should have such a sign, but don’t!
For example, going west on Wynnewood Road as it becomes Eagle Road in Delco at Haverford Road in Haverford at the Route 100 High Speed Line overpass, there’s no such sign. But it’s a real blind spot before you go over the hill and suddenly see vehicles at the bottom of the hill, waiting in the turn lane to go left on to Earlington Road at the traffic light.
The cost of a measly sign surely wouldn’t break PennDOT’s budget.
Make sure you log on to the Road Watch blog to see this video.
In my travels, I’ll show you some other peculiar road signs in future columns. Do you know of any local roads that are in dire need of similar signs? Just e-mail me at the address below.
Welcome Center to Close
PennDOT will close the I-95 Welcome Center in Lower Chichester along I-95 North just north of the Pennsylvania/Delaware border for construction of a new expanded facility starting 6 a.m. May 1.
Signs were posted Friday to advise motorists of the rest stop’s upcoming closure. The site and its access ramps will be completely closed to the public for about one year.
The project will cost $5.9 million and is expected to finish by the May 1, 2011, opening date.
A new 8,500-square-foot building will have four total restrooms – two men’s and two ladies’—instead of the current total of two restrooms.
The current Welcome Center rest area building along I-95 North was opened in 1971 and the Welcome Center building was opened in 1990. It served about 133,000 visitors in 2009.
An electronic message board will advise motorists that food and fuel are available at the next two exits, which are Exit 1, Chichester Avenue, and Exit 2, Route 452 (Market Street). Restaurants and gas stations are located near these exits.
Ben Franklin Bridge Closing
The Ben Franklin Bridge will be closed to traffic in both directions 8-10 a.m. today for the annual New Jersey Chapter March of Dimes “March for Babies,” according to the Delaware River Port Authority.
Also, on Monday and Tuesday, the two right-hand westbound lanes will be closed between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for routine maintenance.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the two right-hand eastbound lanes will be closed between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for routine maintenance.
Bridge Inspections
Monday, the right lane will be closed on the Platt Bridge ramp to I-95 South 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for bridge inspections.
Thursday-Friday, the left lane will be closed on I-95 North between Island and Enterprise avenues 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
I-95 Bridge Work
I-95 motorists will face lane closures weekdays traveling over the Girard Point Bridge and Broad Street Viaduct for bridge construction during off-peak hours. The southbound right lane will be closed on the I-95/Broad Street Viaduct 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 9 p.m.-5 a.m. for concrete resurfacing.
On the nearby I-95/Girard Point Bridge, I-95 North/South will be reduced from three lanes to two 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 9 p.m.-5 a.m. weeknights for concrete resurfacing and bridge painting.
Traffic Delays
Baltimore Pike (Route 1) – Concord, road widening with lane closures between Brinton Lake and Evergreen roads 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. May 3.
Pennell Road (Route 452) -- Aston and Middletown, Sunoco pipeline repairs between Glendale Boulevard and Route 352, 8 p.m.-5 a.m. weekdays through May 6.
Chester Heights – Stoneybank Road, road widening with restrictions between Baltimore Pike and Great Oak Drive 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through April 30.
Radnor — Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli Road and Hunt Road for roadway reconstruction and realignment to remove a sharp curve through Aug. 21. Work began March 1. Goshen Road will be detoured over Darby-Paoli Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Route 3, Route 252 and Goshen Road.
Radnor — Radnor-Chester Road, Aqua utility installation, closed/detoured between Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 29.
Concord – Baltimore Pike, bridge replacement with lane restrictions on bridge over Chester Creek 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 2011. Work began September 2009.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) — Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.
posted by John Roman at
1:23 PM
1 Comments:
The Road Watcher needs to pay a little more attention to street signs. Baird Rd. does not intersect with either East Wynnewood Rd or North Wynnewood Rd. Baird Road runs from Rockland Avenue (along the Lower Merion/Narberth border), crosses Bowman Avenue near the Merion Elementary School and dead ends at Hazelhurst Ave. Could this sign possibly be on Bowman Avenue at the bridge over the R5 railroad? Anyone's guess??
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