STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Concerned parents in New Dorp who say they’ve been asking for a speed bump on their block for about a year, got tired of waiting and installed their own.
The asphalt bump was formed across Locust Avenue yesterday, and hand-painted with yellow lines to warn drivers. A group of residents asked about it today wouldn’t admit that it was their handiwork, but they told the Advance that “whoever” put the speed bump in did so with good intentions, and out of concern for the growing number of children who play on the extremely narrow block where they say cars tend to drive fast.
One parent said he already places several neon plastic “turtle” safety signs in the street after school when the kids are out, to encourage drivers to slow down. But one of the signs was already broken after being hit by a car, he said.
“The majority of this block had nothing but praise for this,” one neighbor said.
“This thing here is gonna save a life,” said another neighbor who said he often keeps an eye on the kids and warns them to cross the street carefully.
So essentially the neighbors put one up and the city took it right back down in less than the time it took to put one there in the first place.
Think about that.
The city couldn’t be bothered with the block until a bump was put there without permission, and they acted with unprecedented swiftness.
I understand the need for protection from lawsuits, and I also understand that you can’t have people controlling traffic flow on their own. That being said, had the city acted as quickly as they reacted they wouldn’t have had to react at all.
Something to think about.