Busy Intersection Gets Crossing Guard

To the relief of many Garden City parents, the village plans to place a crossing guard at the intersection of Nassau Boulevard and Stratford Avenue to assist second, third and fourth graders in getting to school safely. A group of parents had been speaking up at meetings of the board of trustees asking for the village to make this move since early September.

"In this case I think we really all worked together to get something done that I hope is at least satisfactory and hopefully will be taken care of very shortly," said Mayor Robert Rothschild. "We hope parents are satisfied for the time being." He thanked school and village board members, the police department, Traffic Commission and the parents for working together in finding a solution.

Just days before the start of the 2009-2010 school year, the school district informed parents that their elementary school children would not receive busing because of their proximity to the school.  The group of parents, led by resident and mother Susan Sonner, first appeared at the Sept. 10 meeting of the board of trustees, and said that the walking distance to the school was not an issue, but the high level of morning traffic was a problem.

Students aged 8, 9, 10, even as young as 7, were walking or biking across Nassau Boulevard, a four-lane, high traffic thoroughfare in the Estates section, twice a day.

Catherine Knight, a district spokesperson, said that when the district's transportation supervisor, David Murphy, was conducting the final bus routing utilizing G.P.S. software he realized that students from two homes on Stratford Avenue and from a section of Brixton and Kilburn roads, north and south of Stratford Avenue, were not supposed to be bused to school according to the district's policy.

While parents had to figure out a way to get their children to school while still working themselves, Garden City High School already had a crossing guard available to its students.

Rothschild said that he thought the guard would be of more use at Stratford Avenue Elementary School. "That crossing at the high school has cross hatching, a 'Don't Walk' sign, a control button; they are high school students," he said.

Members of the "Nassau Boulevard Safe Passage Initiative" on numerous occasions requested immediate action to safeguard the area. There had been debate between village trustees and the parents of those children affected by the cut at past board meetings, with the board at times questioning the necessity of potentially hiring a new crossing guard for such a small window in the morning and afternoon at the intersection -  between 7:30 and 8:15 a.m. and again between 2:45 and 3:30 p.m.

Mayor Rothschild announced at the Dec. 17 board meeting that the crossing guard at Garden City High School would be moved to the Nassau Boulevard/Stratford Avenue intersection.

"I can't believe kids, children in second, third, fourth grade, would ever have to cross Nassau Boulevard. It's an intersection that requires adult supervision. If anyone would let a second, third or fourth grader cross Nassau Boulevard at 8 o'clock in the morning, I would hope that that doesn't happen without some adult supervision," said the mayor."The application for the point system is as outdated as the horse and buggy that used to cross that intersection. It really needs to be changed." 

Susan Walsh of Brixton Road thanked all those involved, particularly the village's Traffic Commission, on behalf of all the parents and children. Cathy Wood of Tullamore Road echoed those sentiments: "Thank you for resolving the matter. I'm sure I speak for many parents with respect to the crossing guard. You've provided a safe thing for the children. Thank you."

The board intends on evaluating the placement of crossing guards in the village annually in order to see where they will be most effective. "When we have an instance like this, we may have to reallocate crossing guards in the future," Mayor Rothschild said. "This is something that will be done at the organizational meeting on an annual basis."

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