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QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 10, 2019
Bayside parents demands safer streets near PS 376
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BY JENNA BAGCAL
Parents whose children
are enrolled at PS 376 in
Bayside are concerned
about traffic safety around
the school.
PTA co-president Carin
Bail-Rosenfeld presented
these concerns at the Bayside
Hills Civic Association
(BHCA) meeting on Jan.
29, citing a lack of a safety
signal or crosswalk on 48th
Avenue and 211th Street
where cars and city buses
frequently zoom past.
“I know that the location
is a difficult location
in terms of traffic because
it is a roadway where public
transportation runs
— the public buses,” said
Bail-Rosenfeld. “There
is no safety signal in between
Bell Boulevard and
Oceania Street and it’s a
straight run.”
She went on to say that
there are times when the
buses are not following the
proper protocol by “going
as high as 50 miles an hour”
and cars go past parked yellow
school buses with their
stop signs out. A “concerned
parent” on the BHCA Facebook
page raised similar
concerns about the school
at 210-21 48th Ave.
“After petitions and
much correspondence with
Paul Vallone, Community
Board 11 and Andrew Arcese
of Nicole Garcia’s office,
there is still no crosswalk,”
said the parent. “The bus
stop needs to be moved to
its original site (same block
but on the 210th side) so
the crossing guard can
cross the children and their
parents safely.”
TimesLedger reported
on the city’s plans to build
PS 376 back in 2015. Two
years prior, residents in the
area protested the school
due to the potential impact
on parking and “dangerous
traffic problems” for the
students. The school officially
opened in September
2017 and currently teaches
students in Pre-K, kindergarten
and first grade.
In 2017, City Councilman
Paul Vallone collaborated
with PS 376 Principal
Clara Kang and DOT to install
signage that brought
down the speed limit from
25 to 20 miles per hour during
school hours. But parents
think that more needs
to be done.
Vallone told TimesLedger
that he had been advocating
for “additional traffic
calming measures and
devices” at the school site
even before it opened. The
councilman said that his
office has written “multiple
letters” and walked through
the site with DOT.
“As the school’s enrollment
continues to grow in
subsequent years, the traffic
volume and concerns
will also increase. It’s disappointing
that our previous
request for safety changes
was denied,” said Vallone.
“We have once again asked
the DOT to reevaluate this
issue and requested the
addition of a traffic signal
at 48th Avenue and 211th
Street, as well as the addition
of flashing lights to
alert drivers to the existing
slow zone around the
school. The school has also
collected over 200 petition
signatures supporting
these safety improvements.
School safety is always
a priority and I will continue
advocating for a favorable
resolution for the
P.S. 376Q community.”
Andrew Arcese, a Department
of Transportation
(DOT) representative
for the Queens Borough
Commissioner’s office explained
that when DOT
conduct studies for signals
or all-way stop signs, they
follow federal guidelines
listed in the Manual of
Uniform Traffic Control
Devices (MUTCD).
“They basically tell us
when a signal or an all-way
stop is warranted,” said Arcese
who added that there are
nine different criteria that
can trigger a warrant.
Bail-Rosenfeld argued
that the location of the
school met two of the criteria,
but Arcese countered
that the criteria are also
largely based on the volume
of vehicles and pedestrians
that DOT observes.
Parents whose children are enrolled at PS 376 in Bayside are
concerned about traffic safety around the school.
Photo via facebook.com/BaysideHills
/BaysideHills
