I got on the crosswalk at 10:58 am and by 11:53 am, crowds of parents and children began crossing from the CPW side into the park. While the teachers are fastidious about pressing the crosswalk button, the parents don't even know where the button is or if it works. It's poorly placed and would benefit from an Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) button instead of the manual button that is there now. NYC has already agreed to replace all the existing crosswalk buttons in the city with APS buttons. We simply need to make ours a priority.
It was the last day of school and the kids got out early. Many of the families gathered in the playground near our crosswalk and it occurred to me that it might be better if I spent my time talking with the parents than standing on the crosswalk shooting clips. So I got some handbills and went over to the playground and mingled with the parents. We got about 30 more signatures as a result and it was so pleasurable to talk with all of you and those that had signed before.
AND THERE'S LOTS OF NEWS
FOIA Responses: NYPD denied the request for all accident reports involving vehicles and pedestrians at our crosswalk for privacy reasons. I have restructured and resubmitted the FOIA request, this time asking for statistics. NYDOT responded regarding my request for how and when the speed limit was changed to 10 MPH with December 12th by which they would respond. NY Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) responded with a July 18 deadline to my request for the names and any contracts signed by the licensees of all Horse Drawn Carriages and Pedicabs that are licensed to operate in Central Park.
Central Park NYPD Precinct 22 Community Affairs got back to me and invited me to the next meeting on June 22 at 7 pm. He said Inspector Gallagher, the head of the precinct, would be there and listen to our concerns. I told him I would attend.
I also got a device called pocket radar and have been measuring the speed of the incoming traffic. I don't know how to calibrate it because the instructions are all in Chinese. But its readouts seem reasonable. Most of the traffic moving thru our crosswalk is going 16-20 MPH if it is calibrated right. The speed limit there is 10 MPH.
I'm also building a portable crosswalk monitor, kind of like a baby cam. Often I shoot a clip where a cyclist charges the crosswalk when kids are in it but there is no way to get a good headshot because my camera is behind the cyclist by the time the cyclist goes thru our crosswalk. A static downstream camera would allow us to document the faces of offenders much more easily. Once in place, anyone with access could watch our crosswalk. It's just an old iPhone and a tripod with some baby cam software and a solar panel to extend the battery life.
No news from the political camp: CB7, Brewer, Levine, but I didn't bother to bug them today.
Tonight's screengrab: this guy on a scooter threads his way between two groups of ECFS kids and parents. The video is even more ironic when you can hear my exchange with a parent who doesn't believe the button works.