By:Cindy J. Roth
Photo caption #: 37297B: Running red lights is common at Newbridge Road intersection, which leads to unsafe driving conditions for other motorists and pedestrians.
Student safety put in question for schools located near dangerous Newbridge Road intersections
Newbridge Road, from Grand to Waltoffer Avenues, is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the Bellmores. Since 1997, more than 200 accidents have been reported and the number has grown each year.
As the school year approaches, the increasing number of accidents raises questions about student safety at the five schools located less than half a mile from dangerous Newbridge Road intersections.
According to Nassau County Police Department Traffic Safety Unit accident statistics, the Newbridge Road and Jerusalem Avenue intersection qualifies as a high accident location, the highest county classification. To qualify, an intersection must have 25 or more reported accidents in a year with all accidents occurring within 200 feet of the center of the intersection.
In 1997, 30 accidents occurred at the Newbridge Road and Jerusalem Avenue intersection, 24 within 200 feet of the traffic signal. In 1998, the number of accidents reported rose to 35, with 29 within 200 feet of the intersection qualifying it as a high accident location. The next year saw an increase in accidents by 10, to 45, with 40 within 200 feet of the intersection. And, in the year 2000, from January 1 to August 31, 36 accidents were reported, 32 within 200 feet of the intersection.
The Nassau County Police Department does not look at accident statistics on a regular basis, said Dorothea Murphy, a crossing guard with the police department. If there is particular concern about a specific area, a request would have to be made for an accident investigation.
And, even when an intersection is flagged as a high accident area, it is important to look at the contributing factors in the accidents, Murphy said. Many times accidents have factors that are controlled by soley by drivers, including alcohol intoxication, falling asleep or following too closely. The police department can not control those factors even if there is increased enforcement or monitoring of the area, Murphy said. If accidents are occurring because there are unsafe road conditions, hard to read traffic signs or high numbers of drivers running red lights, a request to have a police officer monitor the area can be arranged, Murphy said.
The accident statistics anaylzed by the Herald showed a mix of contributing factors involved in the 147 accidents over the last three and a half years at the Newbridge Road-Jerusalem Avenue intersection. Traveling at unsafe speeds, slippery roadways, unsafe lane changing and limited or obstructed views were some commonly reported contributing factors. The most significant factor in many of the accidents was the failure to yield right-of-way.
According to Murphy, right-of-way is always granted to the vehicle traveling straight, so those turning off the main roadway must yield to other vehicles traveling straight in the opposite direction.
Although the Newbridge Road-Jerusalem Avenue crossroad is a high accident intersection, many local residents and business merchants bordering the intersection have mixed opinions as to how dangerous it actually is.
Muhammed Kamal, who has been working at the Amoco gas station on the corner of the Newbridge Road-Jerusalem Avenue for three years, said he does not see a lot of accidents in the area. Kamal said there are accidents everywhere and he does not think this intersection has an especially high number of accidents or people running red lights.
Workers and gas purchasers of the Hess gas station on another corner of the intersection echoed Kamal's statements. At least a half dozen frequent drivers of the area said they have not seen accidents at the intersection and don't think the intersection is accident prone.
Nam Paek, of Smart Cards and Gifts, a store located on a third corner of the intersection said he does see accidents from time to time. He said he believes most of the accidents occur because people drive too fast, or pass through the intersection on a yellow or red signal rather than waiting for the next green light.
In a test of its own, the Herald observed vehicles traveling through the Newbridge Road-Jerusalem Avenue intersection for five complete traffic signal changes on Wednesday August 1 at 9:15 a.m. Ten cars traveling north on Newbridge Road ran red lights, an average of two vehicles racing through a red traffic signal per signal change. Only one car on Jerusalem Avenue heading west ran a red light.
A Nassau County Police Department facility, housing the emergency services and highway patrol divisions, is located about two hundred feet from the Newbridge Road-Jerusalem Avenue intersection. No one from the department was available to comment on the high traffic area or on the number of accidents they witness at the intersection.
Student's safety
Two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, along with the Nassau BOCES Elementary School building, are all located within three blocks of Newbridge Road cross sections.
Newbridge Road School, adjacent to the Newbridge Road-Bellmore Avenue intersection, ranks as the most accident prone area in comparison to intersections near other the other schools, according to the accident statistics. Fifty-four accidents were reported at the intersection in the past three years, all but three occurring during the academic school year.
Efforts have been made by the North Bellmore School District to help ensure student safety in the area. Crossing guards are present at two crosswalks, one facing the front of the school on Newbridge Road and Sims Avenue and the other at the end of the school's parking lot on Bellmore and Hull avenues.
Howard Pollitt, business administrator for the North Bellmore School District, said the crossing guards help to direct the young students away from the Newbridge Road-Bellmore Avenue intersection. Construction last year widening the street has only made the potential for accident worse, Pollitt said.
Kim Cavanagh, co-president of the Newbridge Road School PTA, said from 8:15-8:30 a.m. there are a lot of speeders in the area, especially on Bellmore Avenue. Student safety is always a concern for the PTA, prompting the association about four years ago to request the Town of Hempstead perform a traffic study of the intersection. The town's survey results showed no need for extra enforcement or increased numbers of crossing guards at the intersection.
North Bellmore School District policy offers bus service to students in kindergarten through third grade if they live more than a half mile from the school. Students in forth to sixth grade receive bus services if they live one mile away from the school. Of students who are designated "walkers", most are dropped off at school by a parent or are accompanied by a parent or older sibling while walking, Pollitt said. So few students actually walk to Newbridge Road School that the building was at risk of losing their crossing guards according to Pollitt.
Legislator David Denenberg (D-Merrick) said crossing guards are very important when it comes to the protection of children, but they do not reduce all of the dangers.
"People speed," Denenberg said. "Crossing guards won't do anything if people are still speeding. We need a police presence. Police need to be at enough schools often enough so people think twice."
While the risks of traffic accidents increase on streets that have more traffic, Denenberg said he believes schools buried in residential areas as opposed to "high traffic" areas are just as dangerous. Instead of flying through red lights, drivers run stop signs and cars often travel at speeds faster than the 30 mile per hour designated residential zones.
Accident statistics for other schools in the Newbridge Road vicinity ranged in quantity. Grand Avenue Middle School, located right off the Newbridge Road-Grand Avenue intersection was home to 35 accidents, John G. Dinkelmeyer School located near the intersection of Waltoffer Avenue and Newbridge Road reported 11 accidents and Wellington C. Mepham High School near the intersection of Camp Avenue and Newbridge Road had four accidents in the last three and a half years.
While some of these accident statistics are low, they only account for reported accidents. There is no way to account for or know how many accidents occur each year that go unreported.
