- Mon May 17, 2010 1:40 pm
#315252
Parkside puzzled on school zone signage
Published: Monday, May 17, 2010
By KENN STARK, Times Correspondent
PARKSIDE — Between borough and PennDOT officials and borough residents and a neighboring town, no one can quite agree on what kind of signage should be installed on Edgmont Avenue to curb chronic speeding through a school zone.
The 15 mph school zone at the Edgmont and Forestview crossing (the main entrance to Parkside Elementary School) continues to be a problem area.
Eighteen speeding tickets — a quarter of the Parkside Police Department’s total monthly volume — were handed out at this location in March.
Borough officials have often discussed student safety at the Forestview crossing with concerned parents.
All agree that the high-traffic volume intersection is a challenge for any crossing guard and every practical safeguard and precaution should be applied.
Despite the obvious need for additional signage to remind motorists to slow down in the school zone, a number of obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.
A few years ago, the borough purchased two heavy-gauge plastic strip-signs that read: “Slow-School Zone.”
The neon-green signs stood about 3-feet high and sat on the double yellow line in the middle of Edgmont Avenue.
For the past two years, both signs have been stored in the office closet of Parkside Police Chief John Egan, who puts removal of the eye catching signs squarely on the shoulders of Brookhaven’s fire chief.
According to Egan, the Brookhaven fire official filed a complaint with PennDOT, claiming that placement of the warning signs in a narrow section of Edgmont Avenue “might scratch the stainless steel wheels on his new rescue truck.”
Egan noted that Parkside Fire Chief Joseph Iacona never commented on the plastic signs, even though his company’s vehicles would traverse the Parkside school zone more frequently.
Confronted by a PennDOT inspector with a formal complaint in hand, Egan said he yielded and removed the cautionary signs himself.
“I begged this guy, and had to remove the sign,” Egan told council. “If you want to lay blame anywhere, it lays with the fire chief in Brookhaven, because he’s the one who complained about coming down here to assist on fires.”
When asked by council if the closeted signs could be redeployed, Egan said yes, but only until the Brookhaven fire chief complains to PennDOT again.
Rob Montella has been Brookhaven’s fire chief since 2002, and he freely admits he is the one who called PennDOT to complain about Parkside’s centerline speed-control signs.
“I’m trying to avoid an accident on a narrow street,” Montella said of his complaint. “I’m just the fall guy because I said something, but it was dangerous to my guys.”
Montella notes that the top of the plastic signs are wider than the double yellow lines, creating a hazard on a state road that is less than the standard 28-feet width.
The placement of the sign near a curbside storm sewer meant fire trucks would have to drive over the recessed inlets to avoid hitting the signs, risking tipping the truck into a utility pole, according to Montella.
Simply driving over the durable signs is not the answer, Montella insists, as the lightweight signs could become a projectile.
While Montella makes no apologies for protecting his firefighters and equipment, he said he is willing to talk to Egan about relocating the signs to a safer spot in the school zone.
Edgmont Avenue business owner/operator Mike Crilly has suggested the installation of overhead caution signs should be investigated to eliminate view obstruction created by roadside poles.
It was noted that overhead signs must be at least 14 feet 2 inches high on any state road.
According to Parkside parent Lisa Burke, overhead signs cost about $8,000 each — a prohibitive price for the cash-strapped borough.
“I know it’s money, but it’s also safety,” Crilly advised borough council.
One signage improvement that has been suggested by PennDOT inspectors is the curbside installation of two new yellow School Zone signs on Edgmont Avenue.
According to a recent PennDOT report, the Edgmont Avenue school zone flashing light is operating in compliance, as it has been since 2004.
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