The Express-Times reports on the recent Upper Nazareth Township Supervisors meeting (read it here).
In the news again, the 4th Street entrance to the intermediate school. Originally, this entrance was to connect the HS and MS (now IS) lots in a straight line between the buildings.
The 4th Street entrance to the HS has been open for many years. The 4th Street entrance to the IS is adjacent to the more recently developed Farmview Estates and residents there have complained about its use since the building opened in 2000.
First the school re-routed most buses away from the entrance, then it installed a remote activated gate. Now the Supervisors are drafting an ordinance to make it illegal to use the entrance.
I have to wonder why this particular entrance poses such a significantly greater risk to pedestrians or residents than the other entrance by the HS, or along Victory Lane by Shafer and the HS, the Gardens by the new MS entrance, along Center Street or at the corner of Belvidere and Liberty by Shafer?
5 comments:
I live in Farmview Estates and I don't understand what the problem is either. I must admit that when that entrance was first opened, it was very difficult to get out of my driveway because of all the buses. After a couple of weeks things settled down, and it got easier to get out of my driveway. With the new school on Friedenstahl, there are less buses, so I really don't know why residents are still complaining. My biggest complaint would have to be the people who open the gate manually just to get through. One person will get out of the car and raise the gate and the driver will then pull through. I don't understand why they can't just drive around to the main entrance, it's only a few blocks away!
I live in Farmview Estates as well. I do have a problem with the traffic. The original intent of that gate was for EMERGENCY VEHICLES ONLY. Then, it was opened for buses, and next thing we knew, all traffic was using the access road. The problem is there are no crossing guards like there is for Liberty street, Belvidere Street, Victory Lane, etc. It's a free for all in the morning when kids are walking to the school, parents are speeding through the gate in a big hurry to get wherever the fire is. We have witnessed a few close calls with vehicles almost striking a child and another almost striking someone walking their dog. There are no sidewalks in our development, which means the children walk on the side of the roads, leaving them at a greater risk of being hit. Earlier this year, while at the bus stop with my children, I witnessed a woman speeding down fourth street with her cellphone at her ear. She apparently didn't see the stop sign (or us) in time and skidded through before stopping in the middle of Friedenstahl. That's why it's a problem.
Why is it the the Farmview Residents don't want people accessing the Intermediate School via the eastern part of Fourth Street but feel it is OK to drive out the western part of Fourth Street and through the High School parking lot when they take theor children to Shafer?
Per the article, "Supervisors then unanimously voted to draft an ordinance that would prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering the Fourth Street gate." Just who will determine what an unauthorized vehicle is? Two years ago I dropped my daughter off at the, then, Middle School and proceeded along the access road to the Maintenance Building to take care of some business. I was stopped by Mr. Kern on my way back and told not to use the access road during the school day. He told me that if I had business at the Maintenance Building, I should be using the Fourth Street entrance and made me turn around. This was contrary to everything I had been told about using the Fourth Street entrance. I don't believe this can be a decision the township makes without consulting the school district.
Also, it seems to me that the UNT Supervisors, like the Nazareth Boro Council with the noise ordinance, are being reactive to complaints of citizens as they arise. It is my opinion that these governing bodies should be analyzing the pros and cons of these ordinances and determining how they affect the majority of their constituents before implementing them on John Q. Public.
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