Slow Down! Parents Sending Message To Newell Avenue Drivers

Parkmead Elementary School parents have tried just about everything to get drivers to slow down on Newell Avenue.

They've paid for signs asking motorists to reduce their speed and stop at intersections.

They've donned orange vests and held stop signs at the crosswalk at Newell and Idlewood Drive.

They've even put an empty baby stroller at the edge of that crosswalk to get cars to slow down and stop.

The battle came to a boiling point last week when Le-Lan Jorgensen paid for a professionally made 24-inch-high sign asking drivers to stop at the crosswalk. She attached it to the pole already at the intersection early Wednesday morning.

A Contra Costa County public works crew came by and took it down at midday. They later explained it was unauthorized and might confuse drivers.

"Taking that sign down was the straw that broke the camel's back. That says you're on your own," said Jorgensen, who has five children under the age of 10 and has lived in a house at the intersection for 10 years.

Jorgensen fired off emails to neighbors, the media and county officials.

She now has a meeting set up for Monday morning at the crosswalk with a senior traffic engineer for the county.

"I've had it," said Jorgensen. "I've just missed being hit too many times."

The problem along Newell Avenue has several contributing factors.

First, Newell is used by commuters in the morning to cut from the downtown area to Olympic Boulevard.

There are also two schools along that route -- Parkmead Elementary and the Dorris Eaton School.

School starts at those campuses between 8:10 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., so school traffic combines with commuters at that time.

In the afternoon, there is also traffic when parents pick up their children at both sites between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

There are several stop signs along that winding part of Newell Avenue. However, the intersection with Idlewood has just a crosswalk with signs on each side of the street identifying it as a pedestrian crossing.

There's also a bit of blind curve coming at the intersection from the east.

Jorgensen and other parents say cars don't even slow down as they near the crosswalk, much less stop, unless they see someone in the intersection.

The parents say the situation is so dangerous they don't allow their older children to walk by themselves.

"I don't even let my kids go get the mail," said Stephanie Lathrop.

The parents have asked for a stop sign at that crosswalk. They've asked for extra sheriff's patrols. They've asked for speed bumps. They've asked for a flashing light.

So far, none of that has materialized.

"We need action. We don't need another study," said Brooke Shinsky.

Parkmead Principal Chris Reddam sympathizes with the parents' frustrations.

He said Newell isn't the only street in the neighborhood with safety concerns, but it certainly is one of the major ones.

Reddam said the school works on making sure cars entering and leaving the campus are being driven safely. The school also sends home reminders to parents about traffic safety.

"We're working to get that message out to the public," he said.

Reddam noted, however, the school can only do so much. They don't have control over how people drive on streets like Newell.

"That's the scary thing. We don't have control over what goes on out there," he said.

Jorgensen said this problem has been going on for at least 20 years. She said the two previous owners of her family's home moved because of the traffic situation.

Now, Jorgensen and her husband are considering moving or perhaps home schooling their children.

As she wrote in her email blast, "I know in the pit of my frustrated heart that only after a human being is killed or maimed that something will change."