Citing safety concerns, Village of Valley Stream makes North Terrace one way

Last school year, several residents of North Terrace Place confronted Shaw Avenue School Principal Alejandro Rivera, hoping to make the street one way during arrival and dismissal times. They were concerned about the congestion and double-parking that occurs daily at that time, they said.

“Dismissal at Shaw is atrocious,” Pat Tramontano wrote in response to a Herald Facebook post about the proposal. “People picking up their kids don’t care where they park, how they park, which driveways they choose to block and which driveways they choose to actually park in.” She added that she wouldn’t let her daughter walk across the street alone, because she didn’t trust the drivers. She was “shocked no one has been run over yet,” she wrote.

According to Nassau County police, 27 crashes have occurred on the small street since January 2013. To make the situation worse, several hundred children are dropped off on that street daily, Village Clerk Bob Fumagalli said at a board of trustees meeting on Aug. 20.

With all that in mind, the board voted to make the street one way. “It’s a public safety matter,” said Barbara DeGrace, the assistant to the mayor. “Obviously the most important [consideration] is the safety of the kids and of the community.”

At the meeting, Bob Nizza, a North Terrace resident, said he was pleased by the village’s decision. “Tragedy’s going to happen,” he said, adding that the congestion is “getting worse and worse.”

Donna Mazzeo also wrote that she “absolutely agrees” with the village’s decision. “My daughter has graduated, so it will no longer affect me personally,” she wrote. “But I do wish it had been done while she was at Shaw Avenue. It doesn’t have to be an all-day restriction, but definitely between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on school days.”

The board received the proposal in March, and the Village Traffic Advisory Committee examined congestion on the street, which runs behind the school, during pick-up and drop-off hours.

DeGrace said that the committee agreed with Rivera, recommending to the board that the street be made one way throughout the day, and not just at arrival and dismissal times. The village then sent out a survey to residents, the majority of whom favored the proposal, which was discussed

at a board of trustees work session on Aug. 6.

“It was something that happened quickly, but something that was needed for the safety of our students and our families,” Rivera said. He added that he was glad that the village worked with him to get the resolution passed. “Having not to worry about arrival time and dismissal time, that’s a huge relief,” he said.

Signs indicating the change will be installed before the start of school on Sept. 5.