High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

A Winning Team to Keep our Children Safe October 6 was a great day. As banners proclaimed Walk a Child to School Day, Allstate announced that the Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project beat out 350 projects to win the National Safety Leadership Award. Over 500 volunteers fanned out to 53 schools where 25,000 children (and their parents) completed safety checklists. Many of them participated in safety fairs, assemblies, classroom discussions, and poster and essay contests. At Horace Mann School volunteers from the community and the City of Oakland joined our Community Policing Officer, fire fighters from Station 18 (with their ever-popular red pumper) and Horace Mann principal, teachers, and security staff. One team monitored problem intersections, another counted out 460 mini-Frisbees into bundles for each classroom. Several teams in bright yellow tee-shirts collected completed checklists about the route to school and interviewed parents and children. The uniformed staff gave impromptu safety lessons and reminders to children and parents arriving by foot or in cars. Crossing Guards and Flowers The safety checklists, in two languages, found recurring problems with speeding cars and drivers failing to cede the right of way to pedestrians. Children reported dogs on the street, uneven sidewalks, trash, and a lack of curb ramps. To make their path to school safer and more pleasant, they asked for more police and crossing guards, plants, and flowers. It is up to us to respond to what we learned on October 6. The checklists will be tabulated, and specific issues will be referred to City agencies. Neighborhood groups will bring some findings to NCPCs and monitor progress throughout the year. Followup efforts will target parents who double (or triple) park when they pick up their children. NCPC Election Cast Your Vote All those who live, work or own a business in beat 27X are eligible to vote in the Melrose/High Hopes NCPC's first election. The NCPC will choose a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and membership coordinator on Thursday, November 18, at 7 p.m., meeting at Horace Mann School.