I.S. 145 Is Targeted For Traffic Safety Evaluation

I.S. 145, the Joseph Pulitzer School, 33-34 80th St., Jackson Heights, was among the four schools in Queens specifically classified as among the 135 "priority" schools identified by the New York City Department of Transportation, Office of School Safety Engineering.

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) has developed school safety maps for 1,471 schools throughout the city. Schools currently in the program are primarily elementary and intermediate schools with an enrollment of at least 250 students.

Under a consultant study, the School Safety Engineering Project, crash data in the vicinity of all program schools was reviewed. As a result, schools were ranked in terms of pedestrian safety, and 135 "priority" schools were identified citywide. At each of these priority schools, safety improvements are being recommended (e.g., new school crosswalks, new traffic signals and signal timing modifications, new speed reducers). In addition, 32 of these schools will receive further investigation to design physical improvements (e.g., raised center medians, widened sidewalks, "neckdowns" or "bulbouts" at intersections). The safety plans include the designation of official school crosswalks, identified by prominent warning signs and roadway markings. DOT also designates curbside locations for school bus loading and unloading and other parking controls to improve conditions for students. In addition, nearly 350 speed reducers (humps) have been installed in the immediate vicinity of schools.

I.S. 145, the Joseph Pulitzer School, 33-34 80th St., Jackson Heights, was among the four schools in Queens specifically classified as among the 135 "priority" schools identified by the New York City Department of Transportation, Office of School Safety Engineering. Besides I.S. 145, the other schools were P.S. 17, Astoria, Saint Elizabeth, a parochial school in Ozone Park and I.S. 194, St. Albans.

As of June 24, 2004, the date I.S. 145 was visited by project managers, the school had an enrollment of about 2,000

students divided into two schools, 1,000 each in both the Joseph Pulitzer School and in the International Academy, including Grades 6, 7, and 8.

At that time, the school hours were divided into two separate sessions of 7:55 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. (session 1), and 8:45 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. (session 2). I.S. 145 has afterschool programs that result in a late dismissal time for participating students (until 5 p.m. for 700 to 800 students) and a morning program on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for 600 students.

The school also has about 150 students who participate in a 7:30 a.m. breakfast program (rain causes this number to increase). I.S. 145 is bounded by Northern Boulevard to the north, 34th Avenue to the south, 79th Street to the west, and 80th Street to the east. The area surrounding the school is generally residential in nature, with high-density apartment buildings. Northern Boulevard has significant commercial activities and carries considerable traffic volumes. Vendors selling food are located at dismissal times in various areas surrounding the school.

At a meeting between school officials and New York City School Safety Engineering Project managers in June 2004, school administrators identified their concerns as follows:

+ Parking is a problem for faculty members. The residents of the neighborhood have been complaining of the lack of parking due to the faculty and staff taking up the available spaces. The school administration was called to a meeting with the local councilmember's office to discuss the issue, and to inquire if any school employees had any place else to park.

+ The school has no crossing guards, since it is a junior high school.

+ The school would, however, very

much like to get some help in supervising the crossings on Northern Boulevard at 79th Street and at 80th Street.

+ An additional problem is the location of the 7-Eleven store across the street on Northern Boulevard. Students crossing to get there are not always as careful as they should be.

+ Volumes are usually heavy on Northern Boulevard and on 34th Avenue.

+ Speeding was a problem in front and back of the school, but is now much better since speed humps were installed.

+ Congestion is usually a problem at both arrival and dismissal.

+ All students enter through the doorway from the schoolyard in the northwest corner of the building, the southeast corner of the schoolyard.

+ The signal timings are adequate for students to safely negotiate the school crossings.

After meeting with school administration and investigating and evaluating the neighborhood surrounding the school, project managers suggested a number of shortand long-term remedial measures to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff.

Short-term measures are those that potentially can be performed in-house.

Long-term measures involve capital improvements.

Short-Term Measures

+Install "No Standing 7AM 4PM School Days" signs.

A parking regulation should be instituted and signs installed reading: "No Standing 7AM 4PM School Days" for thirty feet (30 feet) in front of the school at the main entrance of the school. (This is a typical requirement for all New York City public schools in order to provide for emergency access to and from the school.) This treatment should also improve traffic operations and reduce congestion on 80th Street.

+ Place advanced stop bar before school crosswalk

The standard for placement of a stop bar is four feet in advance of a marked crosswalk. At signalized intersections and midblock crossings, the vehicle stop line can be moved farther back from the pedestrian crosswalk.

For school crosswalks with significant potential for vehicular-pedestrian conflicts, it is recommended that the advance stop bar be placed ten feet in advance of the crosswalk to maximize the safety benefit for school-aged pedestrians. (This would improve visibility of pedestrians to motorists, and allow pedestrians to proceed in a crosswalk before motor vehicles turn.)

Ten-feet advanced stop bars before school crosswalks are recommended on the following approaches of signalized intersections surrounding I.S. 145:

+ Westbound and northbound approaches of 34th Avenue and 79th Street intersection

+ Eastbound and southbound approaches of 34th Avenue and 80th Street intersection

+ Westbound and northbound approaches of Northern Boulevard and 79th Street intersection

+ Eastbound and southbound approaches of Northern Boulevard and 80th Street intersection

+ Westbound and northbound approaches of 35th Avenue and 79th Street intersection

Administer student pedestrian safety education program:

According to the school officials, there are no crossing guards assigned to I.S. 145. The school indicated that adult supervision would be desirable at the crossings on Northern Boulevard at 79th Street and at 80th Street.

Since both intersections provide pedestrian signals with adequate crossing time and the ages of students in Grades 6 through 8 are between 11 and 14 years, adult supervision is not required. Instead, it is proposed that the DOT Safety Education Program work with the school to educate the students not to cross midblock and not to cross against signals.

Long-Term Measures

+ Consider refuge islands at specified intersections.

There is a landscaped median along the center of 34th Avenue, separating eastbound and westbound traffic. This median does not extend through the pedestrian crosswalks. The school crosswalks are located at the west leg of 79th Street and at the east leg of 80th Street. It is therefore recommended to:

+ Provide a pedestrian refuge island by extending the median through the school crosswalk at the east leg of 34th Avenue/79th Street and at the west leg of 34th Avenue/80th Street.

There is a striped median along the center of Northern Boulevard, separating eastbound and westbound traffic. A school crosswalk is located at the east leg of Northern Boulevard at its intersection with 79th Street. It is therefore recommended to:

+ Provide a pedestrian raised concrete refuge island at the east leg of Northern Boulevard/79th Street and at the west leg of Northern Boulevard/80th Street. The refuge islands with extended medians will provide a refuge for pedestrians who do not complete the crossing during the flashing "Don't Walk" indication.

The proposed median should be at least 5 feet wide, should extend beyond the crosswalk, and should have at least 5 feet at grade cut through section. These medians are not proposed where they would hinder the ability of vehicles to turn.

Final details pertaining to proposed refuge islands and curb extensions will be developed during the Final Design Phase of the project.