Traffic hazzard

Dear Editor:I am a concerned parent that has been ignored several times about a danger that may be putting our Downey children at risk. Dr. Rani Maline-Bertsch, principal at Gallatin Elementary School; Dr. Wendy Doty, superintendent at Downey Unified School District; and administration at the Downey Police Department have all been informed various times about the risk children are exposed to on a daily basis. As you travel northbound on Brookshire Avenue you will see three gates that function as entrances/exits. And Monday through Friday, while children come to, or go out of school, the two main gates closer to Gallatin Road are closed. Unfortunately, parents are using these two driveways as drop-off/pick-up stations. The danger this poses is as follows: Using the example of the morning time, a child walking northbound on Brookshire is completely unaware that a big SUV or minivan may be suddenly coming against him/her because the vehicle needs to use driveway. In addition, the approaching vehicle is blindsided by: a) The parked vehicles, which do not allow the approaching vehicle to see if a child may be walking right behind parked vehicles. b) The approaching vehicle (driver) sometimes, and sometimes too often, may be on the phone, increasing the danger of not giving the driver the opportunity to react. c) The approaching vehicle has to drive fast onto the driveway due to the traffic traveling southbound on Brookshire. d) The approaching vehicle, if it happens to be traveling northbound, is obligated to make a type of "U-turn" in order to use driveway, thus increasing the risk of missing seeing the child behind the parked vehicles. The solution is not an easy one, but at least pro-activeness can serve as a great tool. Safety cones can perhaps be the first type of prevention. As mentioned above, all the individuals in charge of doing something about avoiding a tragic accident have been informed. The only one that was responsible enough to respond to my requests was Dr. Doty. She did inform me that safety cones would be set in place in order to keep vehicles from using driveway. Unfortunately the cones did not last; it seems Gallatin school has forgotten to be consistent on this request. Sadly, the principal was never eager to hear my request/suggestion, instead she said: "my only business is educating." As a parent of a current Gallatin student this saddens me deeply. My hope is that you select my concern and print it in your newspaper. I believe it can speak to those parents that are currently using driveways as drop-off/pick-up stations, with the hope that they will not use driveway because a child may be using it as a walkway. - Edgar Serrano, Downey

********** Published: December 25, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 35