Saturday, March 10, 2012

Kids in danger walking to school


From CBS New York:

Parents and local leaders are blasting the Department of Education’s “safe route” in Queens which they claim is putting school children in danger.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said in the last week there were two accidents at the intersection of Laurel Hill Boulevard and 61st Street in Woodside, a suggested “safe route.”

He claims the DOE is putting the children of P.S. 229 in a dangerous situation on a daily basis.

“Instead of protecting children it places them directly in harm’s way forcing children, as young as 7- and 8-years-old, to walk into one of the most dangerous intersections in all of Queens, forcing them to stare down tractor-trailers just to get to school,” Van Bramer told 1010 WINS.

The DOE’s reversal of policy eliminated bus service which was critical in bringing children living in the Big Six Towers to school safely.

Now, the children must walk what Van Bramer calls a dangerous route, which involves crossing the service road of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.


Here's an idea:

How about Jimmy redirects his yuppie shuttle money that the MTA never used toward busing services for the kids. That money still exists, right?

2 comments:

Helen said...

Seems to be no end of money to pay for more bike lanes.

Cheryl Joy said...

What about putting a crossing guard there? Someone from the school, a cop, or volunteer parents taking turns, Walking to school is good, but should be safe. Better to spend the money on paying someone for a mere 2 hours a day, to help the kids cross the dangerous intersections.