Drivers looking forward to safety upgrades on Bethlehem Pike in Montgomery County
FLOURTOWN, Pa. (CBS) – Some drivers may dread the road construction, but many say they are looking forward to a safer road along a busy stretch in Montgomery County.
"People treat this like a freeway," Jen Serroni, who works at Montgomery County Animal Hospital in Flourtown, said.
She was talking about a two-mile stretch of Bethlehem Pike Between Paper Mill and West Valley Green roads. Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said some much-needed safety upgrades are coming to the area.
Serroni said hospital staff sent emails to clients and posted about the closures on social media "giving them a heads up so they can give themselves extra time and prepare to get here for their appointments."
She said she was looking forward to PennDOT workers improving the pedestrian signals in the area.
"They never change, so they're not effective," Serroni said. "So, I think the countdown will be great for our pedestrians."
She was also waiting for better traffic signals and signs at intersections, like the one right outside the animal hospital at the entrance to the Flourtown Shopping Center.
"With the entrances and exits, they're not very clear. So, we see all the time people turning into the exits, coming out the entrances, especially across the street," Serroni added.
Across Bethlehem Pike, at the Giant supermarket, shopper Lorraine Mannis said she worries about the students at nearby Saint Genevieve School. She said people drive too fast and ignore pedestrian crosswalk signs in the area.
"These children have to cross the street, and sometimes the people forget that the blinking lights [mean] you're supposed to go very slow," she said.
PennDOT plans to create new turn lanes to help keep children safe.
"In terms of the left-turn lanes, I think it's going to make traffic slow down. They're going to have to. They don't have a choice," Mannis said.
Even though construction will make her trips to the store a little longer, Mannis said she hoped other drivers will be a little kinder while driving.
"So, you're not rushing, beeping the person in front of you, or trying to pass them," she said. "Just add that extra 15 minutes and be safe."
PennDOT officials said the lane closures will start this week and continue through October.