Father of Pedestrian Killed in OC Pleads for Safety Improvements

OCEAN CITY – In an emotional appeal, the father of a man killed in an accident May 24, asked Ocean City to improve safety at Eighth Street and Bay Avenue.
In a horrific start to Memorial Day Weekend, Thomas Gibbons and his wife, Stephanie, were struck by a car while crossing Bay Avenue at the intersection at Eighth Street at 5:33 p.m. Their two teenage daughters were with them at the time.
Thomas Gibbons, 47, of Lansdale, Pa., was airlifted to the hospital but died the next day.
Dr. John Albert told City Council June 27, he did not want sympathy. He wants action.
He presented a proposal to create two lanes heading into the intersection from Eighth Street, eliminating parking on one side. One lane would be for cars turning right and the few heading straight. There would be a left arrow for those turning south onto Bay Avenue, with a red arrow displayed while the walk signal was on for pedestrians crossing Bay Avenue.
When the left-turn arrow is green, Albert proposed, the pedestrian signal should be flashing ‘unsafe’ in red.
Mayor Jay Gillian said later that Bay Avenue is a county road, and the city would need to look to the county for any changes to that intersection. He said his staff would begin to look at options first thing June 28.
Albert choked up several times while making his presentation. He spoke about Gibbons’ background and personality and said his work as an engineer involved assessing risk.
“Tom assessed risk at Eighth and Bay Avenue and was killed because he had the wrong data walking into that intersection. That intersection is dangerous and I’m going to prove it tonight,” he said. “And it needs to be changed, immediately.”
It does not look dangerous at first, he said, with trees and houses nearby. But, he argued, the intersection includes a number of distractions and issues with visibility. This includes distracted drivers.
Drivers are eager to reach the Ninth Street Bridge heading out of town, with many drivers taking Eighth Street in order to avoid congestion on Ninth Street.
“The person who is heading toward that bridge has an emotional distraction, they’re excited. They’ve diverted Ninth Street. They’re coming up Eighth Street,” he said. “They’re excited they’re going to hit that bridge shortly. They’re making the left-hand turn.”
Drivers often accelerate through that intersection in order to beat the light and make a left turn. At the same time, a pedestrian is given a walk signal at the light with an audible signal, he said. A driver making a left is given a green light, indicating it is safe to proceed.
“Both people are lured into that section. In the military, we used to call it the kill zone,” he said.
Albert was joined by many neighbors and brought copies of emails from many more. At the start of his presentation, he asked his neighbors to stand. Two rows of people stood.
“I’m not here alone,” he said. “Now, they understand that we’re here in unison.”
He ran through a long list of other people who reported close calls at the intersection.
“That was the worst tragedy at that intersection. It was not the only incident,” he said. “My wife and I were almost hit there last year.”
He described several other close calls, including one in which he said his neighbor fell to the ground and the driver stopped and laughed, and said ‘Hey, sorry,’ and drove on.
Albert is a summer resident in Ocean City, spending the rest of the year in Florida. 
Neighbors who live around the intersection told a similar story: Drivers making the left onto Bay Avenue to head toward the bridge are often so focused on getting to Ninth Street, they do not see pedestrians trying to cross at the light.
One man who lives nearby, who did not give his name, said many drivers head through Bay Avenue and up West Eighth Street, which runs along the Snug Harbor Lagoon and ends at a bulkhead. There is a sign stating that there is no outlet to the bridge, but he said many do not seem to take notice.
Another neighbor, Carol Shelly, had a close call in front of a reporter just after the council meeting. She was returning along Eighth Street after watching the sunset from the street end. She and a companion waited at the corner for the walk signal before crossing at the crosswalk, but a car making the left drove directly at them.
They each yelled at the driver to stop and there was no accident.
Clearly upset, and furious, Shelly said the incident was similar to the accident that killed Gibbons and badly injured his wife.
“You saw, it was just like what happened before,” she said.
After his presentation, Albert said his call for improved safety was not about finding meaning in a tragedy, or part of his grieving process. He said he was at the council meeting because it was the soonest he could get to one.
He drives his family to the beach, boardwalk or downtown rather than have them walk and cross that intersection.
“I’m advocating for this safety improvement right now because it needs to be done,” he said.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.