One of two school crossing guards assigned to MS 232 in Lindenwood, Kelly says that she and everyone crossing the intersection of 84th Street and 155th Avenue are at risk because motorists do not observe the speed limit or the traffic signal.
A dangerous public school crosswalk in Howard Beach has galvanized local residents and politicians alike who are calling on the city’s DOT to put children’s safety first and make the crossing safe once and for all.
The intersection at 83rd Street and 153rd Avenue leading to the Walter Ward Public School 232 in Lindenwood has been called a “tragedy waiting to happen,” by the school’s principal Lisa Josephson. The intersection has no stop sign, traffic signal or even speed bump.
The principal has said that almost everyone from school kids and their parents to the school’s crossing guard are in danger.
“Many cars have come close to hitting her [the crossing guard] while she is trying to cross the children and their parents,” Josephson said.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach), who has demanded that the DOT fix the hazardous crosswalk, has said the community has tried for too long to get the issue addressed.
“It is unacceptable for school officials, parents and community leaders to wait years in their fight to protect the lives of our children,” Goldfeder said, in a release.
In a phone interview, Goldfeder called the situation “deplorable,” saying that with every passing day, the safety of kids is at more and more risk.
Goldfeder said that he sent a letter to the DOT last year requesting a thorough investigation of all roadways surrounding the school, but specifically asked that it explore the possibility of installing speed bumps or a stop sign to curb speeding vehicles.
DOT said it evaluated the location last month for traffic controls at the request of Assemblyman Goldfeder, but, according to the agency, the site did not meet the guidelines for their installation.
Nancy Brady, a member of 232’s PTA who also has two kids of her own who must traverse the intersection daily, explained that they have been after the DOT for at least four years to do something to make the intersection safer.
Brady said that between the school’s 1,100 kids and the congestion created by the nearby Lindenwood Shopping Center, it is definitely a scenario for a tragedy.
“I drop my kids off every morning and they cross the intersection at 83rd Street and 153rd Avenue and it takes an extra couple minutes to dodge in and out of the traffic and it’s also dangerous for me, as a parent, to just be holding my kids’ hands,” Brady said.
She also noted that for other kids, who come to school themselves in the morning, they have to go in between cars to try and get themselves across the street because there is no traffic control device at the intersection. “There’s nothing there to slow down the traffic at all.”
Brady also explained that she put together a petition for a stop sign in the past six months and collected more than 300 signatures from local families.
But, she said the DOT was asked specifically to survey the intersection area during the peak times of 7:45am and 8:45am, during the school’s morning rush. But, Brady reported that the DOT couldn’t determine exactly what the times were when the survey last month was done.
However, the DOT, noting that “safety” is its top priority, has agreed to take another look at the intersection to see if any adjustments can be made to further enhance safety.
For Kelly, a crossing guard at the school for 11 years, those adjustments will come none too soon.
“We are constantly at risk. It’s like we are human stop signs,” she said.
She added that there are many other problems that add to the dangers such as the area around PS 232 is so very congested that there is double and triple parking.
“The school buses that park on the sides of the school have a very hard time navigating around the school because of the parking,” she said, also noting that there are many people who run red lights.
Brady said she think the school has been very lucky to not have had any incidents so far and she doesn’t want that to change.
“I don’t want them [DOT] to react after something tragic happens.”
She added, “They [DOT] have an opportunity to fix this now and they should.”
Goldfeder pointed out that we shouldn’t be determining the safety of our kids on facts and figures, referring to DOT’s over-reliance, perhaps, on formulas to correct safety hazards.
“We need to use common sense and not numbers and algorithms.
By Alan Krawitz
