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Day at the fair goes to the dogs

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Exeter family holds fundraiser, raising money and hope for area youngster

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It&#8217;s clear there&#8217;s a crosswalk for people coming to and going from the buses&#8217; platform in the downtown terminal, but signs directing them to use it aren&#8217;t.</p><p>On a few, red lettering on a yellow background read, &#8220;All Passengers Use Crosswalk Only&#8221; with an arrow pointing in the direction of the walkway. On others, the lettering is illegible.</p><p>Despite the signage, people continue to take shortcuts to get to the ground-level platform situated like a concrete island in the center of the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center.</p><p>Safety at the downtown facility built at a cost of nearly $30 million took center stage in a civil suit settled Thursday in Luzerne County Court. A jury found the Philadelphia-based engineering firm Pennoni Associates negligent for the death of Edward Rehill, 86, of Wilkes-Barre who was struck and killed in September 2011 when he walked behind a Luzerne County Transportation Authority bus backing out of a stall. Jurors also determined his negligence contributed to his death, but he was 15 percent at fault, compared to 30 percent for Pennoni, 25 percent each for Wilkes-Barre and the LCTA and 5 percent for the bus driver. Attorneys reached a settlement prior to asking a jury to attach a dollar figure to the verdict.</p><p>The death led to changes at the facility that opened in 2010 and people using it last week said it is safer.</p><p>Michelle Matusek of Wilkes-Barre and Patty McGraw of Kingston waited Friday afternoon for LCTA bus No. 8 to Swoyersville. They take it to the first stop on Pierce Street, Kingston, where Matusek walks to work and McGraw walks to her apartment.</p><p>&#8220;We ride it every day,&#8221; McGraw said.</p><p>They admitted taking shortcuts like others who chose not to use the crosswalk at the northeast end of the facility for a more direct route to their destination either on the platform or in and out of the facility.</p><p>Matusek placed some of the responsibility for safety on the public. It would help, she said, &#8220;If people would watch where they&#8217;re going.&#8221;</p><p>And McGraw supported the installation of additional crosswalks. &#8220;They should have a couple places for people,&#8221; she said.</p><p>McGraw lauded the drivers and facility employees for their customer-service. &#8220;They can&#8217;t do enough to help you,&#8221; she said.</p><p>As they stood on the island spotters wearing reflective vests and wielding illuminated flashlights guided buses in reverse out of stalls and onto the road again. The measure was put in place after Rehill&#8217;s death. The buses are equipped with rear-view cameras and an audible exterior beeper that signals when they are in reverse.</p><p>The suit filed two months after Rehill&#8217;s death alleged people using the facility raised safety concerns to the LCTA and city officials. But, the suit said, the officials failed to restrict people from accessing the areas where buses backed up or take precautions such as the spotters to assist drivers.</p><p>An LCTA driver who asked to be anonymous because he was not authorized to talk, referred to the spotters as one of the improvements.</p><p>They must position themselves so they are visible in the driver&#8217;s side mirror rather than in the small monitor for the rear- view camera, he said</p><p>Still expecting people to walk from the opposite end of the facility to use the crosswalk is unrealistic especially if their bus is at that end.</p><p>&#8220;People aren&#8217;t going to do it,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Spotters direct buses at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, and alert them to people taking short cuts in the terminal, a safety measure put in place since a fatal accident in 2011. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL091215buses.jpg</photo0><caption0>Spotters direct buses at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, and alert them to people taking short cuts in the terminal, a safety measure put in place since a fatal accident in 2011. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Intermodal2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Signs on the center island at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, direct bus passengers to the one crosswalk at the terminal. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Intermodal2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Signs on the center island at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, direct bus passengers to the one crosswalk at the terminal. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Intermodal1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The lettering on some of the signs directing passengers to use the only crosswalk at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, is illegible. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Intermodal1.jpg</photo2><caption2>The lettering on some of the signs directing passengers to use the only crosswalk at the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, Wilkes-Barre, is illegible. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Safety improvements in place at Intermodal, users say more can be done