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PS 8 Parents Press Officials on Traffic Dangers

By JORDAN MOSS

Only a couple of weeks after a group of PS 54 parents secured a speed bump and a crossing guard in front of their school, parents at PS 8 in Bedford Park launched a traffic safety campaign of their own.

About 70 parents gathered in front of PS 8, on Briggs Avenue, to present their concerns to the Department of Transportation and to elected officials. On a walking tour of the neighborhood that was attended by several members of the news media, and organized with the help of the Bedford Park Neighborhood Alliance, parents pointed out traffic trouble spots that they say endanger their children. 

Araceli Lopez, whose son, Enrique is in the first grade at PS 8, said cars routinely speed in the area and ignore stop signs, particularly on Briggs Avenue. 

"They don't even care about the stop signs," said Lopez, who made a video highlighting the dangers. A speed bump, a crossing guard, and a flashing light are among the remedies she said the parents are seeking. 

Luisa Lopez (no relation to Araceli), whose niece attends PS 8, said the crossing guard is especially needed directly in front of the school's Briggs Avenue entrance at East 202nd Street.

Another hazardous intersection, parents say, is at Briggs Avenue and Mosholu Parkway. Cars driving toward Mosholu on Briggs routinely make an illegal left turn onto Mosholu so they can then make an immediate left onto East 203rd Street. As if on cue, a car did just that as parents were pointing out the problem. 

A local Department of Transportation (DOT) official, Annette Salgado, came out to see the problems, but only said that she would take the parents' concerns back to the agency. It was the first time she was hearing about these specific problems, she told one of the event's organizers. 

Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who is the chairman of the Bronx Democratic Party, also accompanied parents on the short tour of the streets surrounding the school. He told parents he'd help bring their message to City Hall. 

"I'm ready to provide buses to City Hall if you think we should be doing that," Rivera told the parents, perhaps hoping that that message would get back to the DOT and spur quick action. He also agreed to write a letter to the DOT.

Parents said they have witnessed too many close calls and cars did appear to speed down Briggs even while the parents gathered with signs that said things like, "PS 8 Parents Want Speed Bumps, Not Accidents" in front of the school.

Luisa Lopez said that the parents would meet with someone from Council Member Oliver Koppell's office on Jan. 8 to discuss their concerns further.

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