Crossing a busy suburban road can be a problem for anybody, but that problem is compounded when the crossing signal control is out of reach.

That was the problem facing Susan Nowicki recently when she tried to cross Main Street just past Transit Road.

“I am a wheelchair user who frequently uses the sidewalks on Main Street between Transit Road and Harris Hill,” Nowicki said in an e-mail to The News. “I often cross from one side of Main Street to the other to go to the business plazas and the (Eastern Hills) Mall.”

Nowicki said getting to the poles that hold the buttons to change the light has always been a challenge, especially when it is muddy or there is snow.

“They are at least 6 feet back from the sidewalk in a grassy area,” she said. “How can this problem be solved?”

Since Main Street is a state road, we contacted Susan Surdej, the public information officer for the New York State Department of Transportation, who expressed concern that the pole might be inaccessible.

“Obviously a pole like that is not easy to relocate because of the wiring,” she said. “But I will send a signal crew out to see if there are some improvements that can be made to make it more accessible.”

Surdej said one possibility would be to create a “path” to the control device in the area back from the sidewalk.

Fix It has tackled everything from faulty roads to broken public drinking fountains. Readers may submit suggestions by writing to Fix It, The Buffalo News, One News Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14203; by e-mail at

fixit@buffnews.com

; or by calling 849-6026. Fix It considers, but is not able to respond to, every suggestion.