Marsico Crosswalk Legislation Discussed at House Transportation Committee Hearing
HARRISBURG — Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Lower Paxton), member of the House Transportation Committee, was pleased that the committee held a hearing to discuss his recently introduced legislation to create a safer environment in Pennsylvania for pedestrians who use crosswalks.
“I decided to introduce House Bill 2614 following the tragic death last year of Owen Brezitski in a crosswalk outside my alma mater, Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg,” said Marsico. “Owen's mother, Karen, came to me in February of this year and gave me a very emotional explanation of what took place and indicated that she wanted something good to come out of the tragedy, and I completely agreed with her.”
House Bill 2614 would require motor vehicle drivers to both stop and yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk when traffic control signals are not in place or in operation. Currently, the law only stipulates that drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. This is a change that New Jersey successfully implemented recently.
Additionally, Marsico’s legislation would increase the fine from $50 to $200 if the offense occurs within a school zone.
During the hearing, chief of the Highway Safety and Traffic Operations Division at PennDOT Stephen Grimme testified that there have been approximately 176 fatalities within crosswalks over the past 10 years in Pennsylvania.
“Crosswalks are designed to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway safely,” said Marsico. “That doesn’t seem to be the case, considering the statistics presented at the hearing. Therefore, I feel I have introduced a vital piece of legislation to better protect our pedestrians. I hope to see this legislation move forward quickly.
“We heard some compelling testimony at the hearing, which the committee members and I intend to strongly consider. Additional ideas to increase public safety in Pennsylvania are instrumental in helping the legislature to pass strong, much-needed legislation,” said Marsico. “The committee and I would like to present this legislation to the full House as soon as possible so that we don’t continue to put our pedestrians in a potentially dangerous situation.”
This legislation was referred to the House Transportation Committee earlier this month.
State Representative Ron Marsico
105th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Autumn Southard
asouthar@pahousegop.com
717.652.3721