University Times

The Staff Association Council (SAC) wants all employees whose job performance evaluation “meets standards” to receive 4 percent salary increases next fiscal year.

President Rich Colwell reported at a March 8 meeting that SAC’s salary and job classification committee made the recommendation, which was endorsed by SAC’s steering committee.

SAC then sent the recommendation to Ronald Frisch, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources.

Last July, Pitt’s salary budget increased by 3 percent for fiscal year 2006, distributed as follows: 1.5 percent salary maintenance raises for employees (staff as well as faculty) who received at least satisfactory (“meets standards”) performance evaluations; 1 percent for merit, market and equity raises as determined at the unit level, and 0.5 percent distributed by senior officers to address market imbalances.

In the letter to Frisch, Colwell said SAC also included its annual request for a re-evaluation of the staff classification system salary ranges, which are benchmarked against local and regional jobs requiring similar skills and duties.

According to the Human Resources web site, each year the University reviews the salary structure of the staff classification system to ensure that Pitt remains competitive in the job market.

That salary range review looks exclusively at market competitiveness and not at any individual’s pay and includes an examination of both market and economic factors.

Based on the salary range review, the minimum, midpoint and maximum of each pay range increased by 4 percent in FY06, the HR web site states.

The do’s and don’ts (as well as some maybes) for pedestrians, who pose a chronic safety issue in people- and vehicle-teeming Oakland were on SAC’s March 8 agenda.

Pitt police Officer Ronald Bennett summarized some of the rights and duties of pedestrians under Pennsylvania law.

Like drivers, pedestrians must yield to emergency vehicles and must obey the instructions of a police officer or other person authorized to direct, control or regulate traffic, Bennett said. “That includes school guards, security guards, road workers holding up stop signs — not just police officers. Their jurisdiction includes the ability to stop pedestrians from walking, as well,” he said.

Where vehicle and pedestrian responsibilities diverge are in a number of areas, Bennett said, including:

• Right-of-way of pedestrians in crosswalks.

“This is a very sticky situation, because both pedestrians and vehicles have rights,” Bennett said.

The general rule states that when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, he said.

“So if it’s marked, or unmarked at an intersection, vehicles have to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians once that pedestrian is in the crosswalk,” Bennett said. However, the law adds, “No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute a hazard.”

This uneasy truce is a common problem at several campus spots, but especially on Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth and Forbes avenues, Bennett acknowledged.

“Pedestrians are supposed to wait until they have a clear path to walk across. However, there is this tendency to walk in numbers, when pedestrians figure that no one will run them over,” he said. “Your responsibility as a pedestrian is to watch the car. Even if you have a walk sign, before you step off the curb, make sure that the driver of the car sees you. If the driver doesn’t see you, let the car go.”

Once a vehicle has stopped at a crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, it is illegal for any other vehicle approaching from the rear to overtake or pass the stopped vehicle, Bennett noted.

• Pedestrians crossing at locations other than crosswalks or intersections.

The general rule is that pedestrians have to yield the right-of-way to all vehicles when crossing at points not marked or not at an intersection, Bennett said. “It is their responsibility to watch to see if it’s totally clear before they try to cross,” he said.

• Right-of-way of pedestrians on sidewalks.

“This rule applies to areas where a vehicle has to cross a sidewalk to gain entrance to something, like the entrance to Schenley Quad,” Bennett said.

The law states, “The driver of a vehicle emerging from or entering an alley, building, private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian approaching on any sidewalk extending across the alley, building entrance, road or driveway.”

The rules governing vehicles apply equally to bicycles, Bennett said.

The penalty for violating any of the provisions governing pedestrian rules is $51.50 per citation, Bennett noted.

(The full text of the “Rights and Duties of Pedestrians,” part of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code – Title 75, can be accessed at http://members.aol.com/StatutesP1/75.Cp.35C.html.)

In other SAC developments:

• Gwen Watkins, chair of the program and planning committee, reported that $1,696 was raised University-wide to support the American Heart Association during the SAC-sponsored National Wear Red Day. The Graduate School of Public Health raised more than $750, the most money raised by a single unit.

• The SAC office has moved from the William Pitt Union to 313 Bellefield Hall. The phone number (4-4236) and the e-mail address (sac@imap.pitt.edu) remain the same.

• Order forms for the SAC Sarris candy sale are due March 20 to the SAC office (313 Bellefield Hall).

—Peter Hart