The More Things Change...
Despite all efforts to try to accommodate the mass of parents whose children attend P.S. 312 in the Bergen Beach area of Brooklyn, severe traffic problems still plague the streets that surround the school.
At dismissal, many parents will double and triple-park their cars in order to pick up their children. Then, those parents will weave through the streets, mostly because other parents parked exactly the same way throughout the block.
According to the March 27, 2006 Kings Courier (accessed at 8:45 PM on March 24th), on February 6th, a young boy was hit as he made his way around a double-parked car as it pulled away from the school.
Although he was hospitalized, the boy has healed and has resumed his school attendance.
The morning rush was changed from being a similar nightmare scenario to a more tolerable situation. For the morning, a "parking valet" system was enforced, where parents take turns driving to the curb, leaving their children, then going on their way. Such a system would not be possible for dismissal, where each child leaves at the same time.
The principal of P.S. 312, Linda Beal-Benigno, has requested that police from the 63rd Precinct increase their enforcement of traffic laws in the area. She is also requesting that East 71st Street become a one-way street and that the school parking zone would take the entire block on the side of the street that houses the school, from Avenue T to Avenue N (those that don't know the area should know that a fifth of the alphabet doesn't exist in that area, but the missing letters do show up further to the west). Such an extension would allow school buses to park further down the street and allow parents to drive closer to the front door.
This has been a problem for a long time. In fact, it was a severe problem when I attended P.S. 312 from 1990 to 1996 and was much worse during the annual student-show-off-some-lame-class-dance festival, where parents would park wherever they pleased for a few hours. The fact that the problem has not been solved in 16 years shows a lack of concern and effort from those in charge throughout the entire time, perhaps longer.
That annual festival was a mild ticket blitz for the one officer the 63rd Precinct bothered to send and may still be if those festivals continue to be held. The rest of the year saw lax, if not nonexistent, enforcement. Which is par for the course for the 63rd in the area. Often, not even a patrol would make rounds to enforce traffic laws among the residents of the area.
When there was enforcement, it was sporadic. While triple-parked cars blocking much of East 71st Street would be overlooked, someone by the fire hydrant was ticketed. Nevermind that it is easier to access or clear a hydrant area than it would be for an ambulance or firetruck to drive down the street when even average motorists have to drive slowly due to the cramped spaces. This does not foster a safe environment for the area immediately surrounding the school.
The approaches from everyone involved are completely wrong.
The principal's plans cater solely to the parents and would do little to alleviate the problem. The triple-parking would still exist but instead, if the street were made into a one-way street, at least everyone would hopefully be driving and triple-parking in the same direction on East 71st Street.
The 63rd Precinct is also approaching this manner in the wrong way. Lax enforcement is the standard but even increased enforcement would not change much. As long as enforcement is emphasized but general safety is not, then the boy that was hit will not be the last one. He was lucky. The next one might not be that lucky. It is surprising that more children and adults have not become victims to this ridiculous situation.
The parents have been quite selfish in this entire relationship. That is not to say that every parent has become selfish over the years, but enough have become selfish enough to make the situation what it has been and what it still is. Too many of them try to drive all the way to the entrance as if walking an extra 50 or 100 feet would threaten the American way of life. With crossing guards and other authority figures in the area, plus those covering Roy H. Mann I.S. 78, the junior high school three blocks away (which only makes the traffic situation worse though it is not as massive a problem as it is at P.S. 312), it's even safe for the parents to wait a block or two away.
Also, many of the parents reside with their children within reasonable walking distance of the school, yet they will still drive every day. This might be less of a problem if they did not compete to be right in front of the school with everyone else. To demand that the school should only cater to their desires is not responsible, especially when some part of the problem could be avoided.
It seems that nobody has bothered to come up with alternatives that could easily alleviate the situation and make use of the wonderful advantages the school could have if some work was done. Perhaps some common sense is in order.
First, make walking in the area safer, especially for young children. Place traffic lights at every intersection in the immediate area. There were zero traffic lights around P.S. 312 when I attended and it made crossing streets difficult, especially with Avenue T being four lanes wide (not including parking lanes) in the area. The lights should also be placed at Avenue N intersections for people heading into Georgetowne. At the busiest intersections, a time could be made for pedestrian crossing only and red lights all around. This would also make the job for the crossing guards much easier.
Second, find ways to make use of the undeveloped land surrounding P.S. 312. If the land is somehow owned by someone other than the city, then the land should be purchased. Then, a driveway could go around the school with several parking lots or pickup zones created to accommodate vehicular traffic. This configuration can be changed as long as it helps prevent a crushload of cars from sitting on Avenue T or East 71st Street at the same time.
The lots could also be used overnight by area residents to park their cars. This would help overall congestion. The area is witnessing the creation of houses and nothing but houses and many households own more than one car. Additionally, many landlords don't even make us of the wonderful invention called the "garage" and park their cars on driveways, on sidewalks in front of their driveways (another thing the 63rd Precinct does not enforce, a person can not park on the sidewalk, even if it is in front of their home), and on the street parking spaces in front of their homes, depriving tenants of spaces for their vehicles. With the area encouraging a car culture simply to get to supermarkets not very close by, overnight use of the lots by residents could be a welcome benefit.
Third, discouraging some parents from driving should be tried. There are only two MTA buses in the area (the B3 and the B41) and it may not be possible for many parents to use that option and escort their children on mass transit. Additionally, that option does little for those residing in Mill Basin, in Bergen Beach, or in Georgetowne (or very far away, as I remember a couple of children hailing from as far as Bay Ridge at the other end of Brooklyn and Staten Island).
What could be done instead would be to expand the school bus system for P.S. 312. The school could tell parents that a certain amount of students must arrive and depart via a school bus, unless the parents get an exemption. Those who require special attention, have a disability, or legitimately have safety concerns (such as being a popular target for hostile students) could be exempted. The rest of the possible exemptions could be given through a lottery system.
Finally, after all of the other steps have been taken, then increased enforcement of traffic laws can take place. Instead of trying a ticket blitz that will do little to improve the current situation, enforcement after the plans are put into effect will be easier and will focus on safety.
Many parents will not be happy if such changes were implemented. But they need to make some sacrifices to clean up a mess they mostly created, even though it was not their intent. And after all, if they have the time to go and drive their children to and from P.S. 312, then they have the time to wait for a school bus to arrive in front of their homes. Hopefully, they will understand that such measures are needed to improve the safety of the children as well as residents around the school and anyone else in the area at the time.
This is almost certain to be an imperfect plan. If it can be improved or replaced by something better, then it should be welcome. However, it is much more than asking the 63rd Precinct to keep a closer eye on motorists. After at least 16 years and likely longer, that approach simply does not work. It is finally time to create other plans to deal with this problem. It should be done before more children (or other pedestrians) are injured (or worse) by careless motorists and by this preventable problem.
This problem is only representative of the flaws in the 63rd Precinct. And this is but one thing that can go unaddressed for years in that part of Brooklyn. It's about time it gets fixed.
At dismissal, many parents will double and triple-park their cars in order to pick up their children. Then, those parents will weave through the streets, mostly because other parents parked exactly the same way throughout the block.
According to the March 27, 2006 Kings Courier (accessed at 8:45 PM on March 24th), on February 6th, a young boy was hit as he made his way around a double-parked car as it pulled away from the school.
Although he was hospitalized, the boy has healed and has resumed his school attendance.
The morning rush was changed from being a similar nightmare scenario to a more tolerable situation. For the morning, a "parking valet" system was enforced, where parents take turns driving to the curb, leaving their children, then going on their way. Such a system would not be possible for dismissal, where each child leaves at the same time.
The principal of P.S. 312, Linda Beal-Benigno, has requested that police from the 63rd Precinct increase their enforcement of traffic laws in the area. She is also requesting that East 71st Street become a one-way street and that the school parking zone would take the entire block on the side of the street that houses the school, from Avenue T to Avenue N (those that don't know the area should know that a fifth of the alphabet doesn't exist in that area, but the missing letters do show up further to the west). Such an extension would allow school buses to park further down the street and allow parents to drive closer to the front door.
This has been a problem for a long time. In fact, it was a severe problem when I attended P.S. 312 from 1990 to 1996 and was much worse during the annual student-show-off-some-lame-class-dance festival, where parents would park wherever they pleased for a few hours. The fact that the problem has not been solved in 16 years shows a lack of concern and effort from those in charge throughout the entire time, perhaps longer.
That annual festival was a mild ticket blitz for the one officer the 63rd Precinct bothered to send and may still be if those festivals continue to be held. The rest of the year saw lax, if not nonexistent, enforcement. Which is par for the course for the 63rd in the area. Often, not even a patrol would make rounds to enforce traffic laws among the residents of the area.
When there was enforcement, it was sporadic. While triple-parked cars blocking much of East 71st Street would be overlooked, someone by the fire hydrant was ticketed. Nevermind that it is easier to access or clear a hydrant area than it would be for an ambulance or firetruck to drive down the street when even average motorists have to drive slowly due to the cramped spaces. This does not foster a safe environment for the area immediately surrounding the school.
The approaches from everyone involved are completely wrong.
The principal's plans cater solely to the parents and would do little to alleviate the problem. The triple-parking would still exist but instead, if the street were made into a one-way street, at least everyone would hopefully be driving and triple-parking in the same direction on East 71st Street.
The 63rd Precinct is also approaching this manner in the wrong way. Lax enforcement is the standard but even increased enforcement would not change much. As long as enforcement is emphasized but general safety is not, then the boy that was hit will not be the last one. He was lucky. The next one might not be that lucky. It is surprising that more children and adults have not become victims to this ridiculous situation.
The parents have been quite selfish in this entire relationship. That is not to say that every parent has become selfish over the years, but enough have become selfish enough to make the situation what it has been and what it still is. Too many of them try to drive all the way to the entrance as if walking an extra 50 or 100 feet would threaten the American way of life. With crossing guards and other authority figures in the area, plus those covering Roy H. Mann I.S. 78, the junior high school three blocks away (which only makes the traffic situation worse though it is not as massive a problem as it is at P.S. 312), it's even safe for the parents to wait a block or two away.
Also, many of the parents reside with their children within reasonable walking distance of the school, yet they will still drive every day. This might be less of a problem if they did not compete to be right in front of the school with everyone else. To demand that the school should only cater to their desires is not responsible, especially when some part of the problem could be avoided.
It seems that nobody has bothered to come up with alternatives that could easily alleviate the situation and make use of the wonderful advantages the school could have if some work was done. Perhaps some common sense is in order.
First, make walking in the area safer, especially for young children. Place traffic lights at every intersection in the immediate area. There were zero traffic lights around P.S. 312 when I attended and it made crossing streets difficult, especially with Avenue T being four lanes wide (not including parking lanes) in the area. The lights should also be placed at Avenue N intersections for people heading into Georgetowne. At the busiest intersections, a time could be made for pedestrian crossing only and red lights all around. This would also make the job for the crossing guards much easier.
Second, find ways to make use of the undeveloped land surrounding P.S. 312. If the land is somehow owned by someone other than the city, then the land should be purchased. Then, a driveway could go around the school with several parking lots or pickup zones created to accommodate vehicular traffic. This configuration can be changed as long as it helps prevent a crushload of cars from sitting on Avenue T or East 71st Street at the same time.
The lots could also be used overnight by area residents to park their cars. This would help overall congestion. The area is witnessing the creation of houses and nothing but houses and many households own more than one car. Additionally, many landlords don't even make us of the wonderful invention called the "garage" and park their cars on driveways, on sidewalks in front of their driveways (another thing the 63rd Precinct does not enforce, a person can not park on the sidewalk, even if it is in front of their home), and on the street parking spaces in front of their homes, depriving tenants of spaces for their vehicles. With the area encouraging a car culture simply to get to supermarkets not very close by, overnight use of the lots by residents could be a welcome benefit.
Third, discouraging some parents from driving should be tried. There are only two MTA buses in the area (the B3 and the B41) and it may not be possible for many parents to use that option and escort their children on mass transit. Additionally, that option does little for those residing in Mill Basin, in Bergen Beach, or in Georgetowne (or very far away, as I remember a couple of children hailing from as far as Bay Ridge at the other end of Brooklyn and Staten Island).
What could be done instead would be to expand the school bus system for P.S. 312. The school could tell parents that a certain amount of students must arrive and depart via a school bus, unless the parents get an exemption. Those who require special attention, have a disability, or legitimately have safety concerns (such as being a popular target for hostile students) could be exempted. The rest of the possible exemptions could be given through a lottery system.
Finally, after all of the other steps have been taken, then increased enforcement of traffic laws can take place. Instead of trying a ticket blitz that will do little to improve the current situation, enforcement after the plans are put into effect will be easier and will focus on safety.
Many parents will not be happy if such changes were implemented. But they need to make some sacrifices to clean up a mess they mostly created, even though it was not their intent. And after all, if they have the time to go and drive their children to and from P.S. 312, then they have the time to wait for a school bus to arrive in front of their homes. Hopefully, they will understand that such measures are needed to improve the safety of the children as well as residents around the school and anyone else in the area at the time.
This is almost certain to be an imperfect plan. If it can be improved or replaced by something better, then it should be welcome. However, it is much more than asking the 63rd Precinct to keep a closer eye on motorists. After at least 16 years and likely longer, that approach simply does not work. It is finally time to create other plans to deal with this problem. It should be done before more children (or other pedestrians) are injured (or worse) by careless motorists and by this preventable problem.
This problem is only representative of the flaws in the 63rd Precinct. And this is but one thing that can go unaddressed for years in that part of Brooklyn. It's about time it gets fixed.
posted by Will at 10:41 PM
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