What is your opinion on the training and what you've heard about other jurisdictions and the amount of training that they provide, not only initially, but ongoing as the guards are working throughout the course of the year?
Officer Gail Braxton at headquarters is quite good. We work together. I do orientation before she begins when they are hired. I give them my expertise of years on the corner. They know the do's 15 and the don'ts. And then after Officer 16 Braxton is in the office for four hours, we go 17 out to 22nd and Walnut, and the last time we 18 did 22nd and Chestnut and Walnut because we 19 had about six guards. 20
I was wondering 21 whether or not there's been any discussion of 22 maybe changing up some of the orientation 23 corners to areas that maybe have a little more traffic volume or that maybe serve one or two schools as opposed to one just down the 136 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 street? How long ago was that corner selected as the practicum corner?
As long as I've been doing it, it's been there. That's the same one, yes.
What's your view on the equipment and uniform and other issues and other items that are issued to guards and the upgrade and upkeep of that equipment and the use of paddles?
Well, the use in paddles is difficult. I came on in '73 and we were prohibited from using them at that time. Under Corporal Tom Graham, he had 500 donated. Just as I was going out in '95 I got one. It's difficult to use one if you've worked 20 years without one. But I did try it for a 21 day. A lot of guards like them. They have to 22 buy their own. 23
How about issues like reflective gloves, reflective vests?
Is it a requirement, because I do in my own travels see people that don't have them on.
Is there any supervision as to whether it's used or whether it's worn?
Well, practically speaking, in addition to the Crossing Guard Unit, the district supervisors are to make spot checks of the individual guards to make sure they're wearing the appropriate uniform.
I know it's a tough job, so sometimes you have to call in sick or injured, what's the process of calling in that day when you're not going to show up or you can't make it or you're ill? And what happens as a result of that corner being vacated for a day or for a week? 138 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035
The individual guard is expected to contact the district where they work and indicate the reason for their absence from work. And then a decision is made based upon the traffic at the particular area by the district supervisor to determine whether or not a police officer should in fact go there to try and cover that.
But there's no 11 specific policy as to the coverage of the corner, other than someone making a judgement call?
Because I'm wondering whether or not maybe some additional time prior to that hour might give the district supervisor commanders the ability to make other arrangements rather than leave the corner empty. That's just a suggestion.
It would be very 139 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 difficult if you woke up in the morning and were sick to give you more notice if you weren't sick the night before.
What happens with longer-term illness? The guard is out for some other injury that you know the person is going to be out a week, days, two weeks? 9 What happens then? 10
The district commander will evaluate that area. Sometimes in some cases he may redeploy a guard from what may be a less busier area to a busier corner, as that instance might be. And that's done on a frequent basis, but at sometimes there are temporary replacements that are put into those corners.
No. And I want to thank you for having me here today. You kept your word.
You're always 140 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 welcome here.
No. I was supposed to be called for the task force, but as of this hearing I have not.
Unless there's anything else you'd like to add, I will thank you for coming in and thank you for your input and testimony. If there's any recommendations that Deputy Commissioner Fox would like to make to the Committee in writing, or anything Betty, that your Local would like to make part of the record in writing, we'd be happy to take and make part of our report recommendations.
Anything that would protect the children of the City of Philadelphia we will welcome. 141 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035
-- and you know. So anything you guys want to put together for our consideration as a joint Committee for our end report we'd be happy to try to include.
Thank you very much. Have a nice day. Roxanne Galeota and Sean McAleer, please. Thank you for your patience. Please identify yourself for the record.
I'm Roxanne Galeota. I live at 718 Pemberton Street in Bella Vista, and I have my daughter Raquel Smith, with me.
As I said, I'm a long-time resident of Bella Vista. I walk my daughter to school every single day. The reason I asked to testify is because for three years since she was in first grade we've been 142 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 attempting to make the route to school safer for her and scores of other kids.
She goes to Meredith School. Meredith School is located at Fifth and Fitzwater. We brought a map that shows our route to school. We've made copies. 10 The problem street is Passyunk Avenue at Fitzwater.
A problem street and a problem to pronounce too. I live next to Passyunk Avenue, so I know. I'm sorry. Go on.
Well, the problem is that we have no place to cross without dodging between parked cars in order to get to the crossing guard at Fifth and Fitzwater Streets. Every day scores of children go to school along Fitzwater Street and even more children are crossed back after school with their after-school programs. There must be about four or five programs that walk their children west of Meredith School. 143 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035
So you're talking proceeding east across Passyunk Avenue onto Fitzwater?
Right. The corner of Fifth and Fitzwater Streets is fine. We have one crossing guard there. There's another crossing guard at Fourth and Fitzwater. They're wonderful. We have crosswalks. The reason why I felt it was important to highlight our experience is that I'm hoping that the emphasis of Mr. Goldsmith's task force is not just on the designated school crossing areas adjacent to the school, but streets that might be unsafe immediately surrounding the school that are known to be part of the path that children take to get to and from school. In the beginning of 2001 when our daughter was in first grade, we spoke to Principal Stuart Cooperstein about what we can do to campaign to get some kind of safety 144 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 thing done on Passyunk Avenue. He encouraged us and supported our doing petitions to the Commissioner of the Department of Streets, which we did. We gathered 250 signatures, and I believe those were parents, and then another 50 kids signed up. And I brought those, for what they're worth. This evidence is our level of support commitment and concern at our school. What we asked for was basically anything. We wanted a study, which we got. We asked for either a crosswalk, slow sign, school zone signs, even a guard. But of course we knew the guard would be a real long shot. As I said, a study was done, and we copied our petitions to Councilman DiCicco, so he's been aware of our efforts, and Mr. Green also got copies of everything. In 2002, the study was done by a Department of Streets engineer. And in my conversation with him -- and I never got a copy of the report, but in my conversation with him it was pretty clear that he interpreted the regulations as not allowing school zone signs on any street or 145 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 any highway that's not adjacent to the school, and the crosswalk issue couldn't be handled because he didn't see this as an appropriate intersection or an appropriate place to put a crosswalk, according to PA DOT regs. Not being an engineer, not being an attorney versed in traffic regulations, I simply moved to plan B, which was to apply for flashers. So that's what we did. What I will say they did at the Department of Streets was they did agree to block off several spaces where people park so that at least when we dodged between parked cars, we're dodging between hopefully maybe 15 feet or more.
There is some kind of site line. But there's nothing that shows people that this is really the place to cross, and there's nothing on Passyunk Avenue that slows cars down. We applied flashers for 2002. Councilman DiCicco approved them, got them through. This is Exhibit C, our application 146 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 for flashers. The application, as I said, was approved. We requested flashers for Passyunk Avenue because there is a crosswalk. There are crosswalks and a guard at Fifth and Fitzwater Streets right in front of the school entrance. In September 2003 the flashers were installed, but they were not installed on Passyunk Avenue at any point on the avenue. They were installed at Fifth and Fitzwater Street right under the nose of the guard and right next to the entrance to the school. I did look at these PA DOT regs at that time and I saw that clearly flashers were not supposed to be installed within an area less than 150 feet from the entrance to the school. I'm not sure what gave rise to that, but I can site you the regulation. Again, I wrote Mr. Green. No response. Really I felt completely powerless, other than choosing to do a lawsuit, a class action suit or filing appeals from determinations I had no evidence or no 24 documentation about. Other than doing the lawyer thing, I felt politically hopeless. I 147 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 felt that nobody cared, other than Councilman DiCicco and the people in the school community. And I also felt that rather than finding ways to do something to help, the powers that be were either ignoring the request or finding excuses not to do anything.
That is the Traffic Engineering Division. It's the "no" department.
Actually, I think -- John's not here -- I think four years ago we had a hearing on the optic yellow-grown crossing signs that they testified that they don't work, that they don't reduce -- there's no greater visibility, that they're too expensive, that they're too hard to maintain. I didn't call them on today, but today in their testimony they're replacing all the old signs with the optic yellow-green. So there's like a four-year delay button, a four or five-year delay button in new ideas before it 148 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 finally gets to them. What I will do is bring this to the attention of Phil Goldsmith, relative to their task force, see if they can't take a look at it again, make sure I let Councilman DiCicco know what we're doing and maybe this is the right time to get at least some signage, if not a -- I don't see why you can't have a painted crosswalk there. That to me is the cheapest and easiest thing to do with signage. If for some reason or other the flashers aren't able to be there, at least that painted crosswalk at Passyunk and Fitzwater makes some sense, along with some signage. This may be an opportune time with all the scrutiny on this to get them to move in that direction. I will do my best.
Thanks. Thanks for hanging around for the testimony. We appreciate it.
My name is Sean McAleer, Director of Planning and Development for Franklin Town Charter High School. I'd like to thank the Committee for allowing me to speak. As you are aware, one afternoon a 14-year-old freshman, Ashley Thorpe (ph), was struck by a pick-up truck while she was leaving the grounds of Franklin Town Charter High School, which is located in the Arsenal on Tacony Street, Bridge and Tacony Streets in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. Ashley is lucky to be alive. I wasn't there to see the accident, but from what I was told she was crossing on a green light and the pick-up truck ran a red light, made a right turn and struck her. Also from what I've told there's an ongoing investigation. No tickets have been written so far. To date we have no traffic devices at all. We have no crosswalks, no safety cards, no school zones. We have nothing in place. We have gone to local politicians in the past and they have worked very diligently. 150 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 We are on a list to get these devices, but unfortunately it takes time to get these done. I have 925 students currently enrolled, up to 50 percent of those students walk to and from school in that area. And if you're familiar with the area, the speed limit is 35. There's one posted sign further down from the Arsenal. But it's just a raceway.
With trucks, with cars. To escape 95 traffic, cars constantly take Tacony Street. At least Tacony Street, we have a traffic light. On the Bridge Street side we don't even have a traffic light in place. There is no traffic light at all except if you walk up to the corner. Of course, we have the safety in place for the school that we tell all the kids they have to go up to the corners, which most of them do, but of course they're kids. So sometimes kids do what they have to do and cross the street. But on the Bridge Street side we don't have a traffic light. 151 04/22/04 - RESOLUTION 040035 We have had several occasions, close calls, run-ins that we've also let our local politicians know, and they have come back and done studies and made people work and put us on list, but to date nothing has been done, and I just feel really bad that something like this had to happen to Ashley that's home suffering right now and we don't know how the outcome is going to be. So I just ask for the Committees -- I am glad that there is a task force that is formed, but we're a charter school. We're different from the public schools. The charter schools, we don't have what the public schools have in place. We don't have all these devices and financial abilities to put them in place. So we really need help, the whole charter school community, which there's 47 charter schools in the City of Philadelphia. We need help and we need it now. We need it not in September. I just ask for you to take a bigger look at this and take a look at it now before -- like I said, 925 kids -- before another child gets hurt. 152
I agree. I think the time is very opportune for this kind of attention. It's sad to say that Ashley had to be the cause of it. But thank God she was not killed. I think we can bring this also to the Managing Director's attention to see if we can get some action on it quickly.
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else to testify on this resolution? (No response.)
Seeing none, we thank everybody for your attendance. And the Committee intends shortly to cull through this information and to issue a report that hopefully can be used in this task force effort to improve the situation. Thanks again to the Daily News for their efforts. We appreciate it. This Committee is adjourned. (Council adjourned at 4:00 p.m.) 153 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Thursday, April 22, 2004, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT and PUBLIC SAFETY _________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR