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Neighbors, bus drivers argue for traffic lightBy RYAN MALDONADO© St. Petersburg Times published February 3, 2002 ST. PETERSBURG -- Less than a block south of 49th Street S and Sixth Avenue, county school buses emerge from a depot for their appointed rounds. Neighbors and the union for the bus drivers say the intersection is an accident waiting to happen and needs a traffic light. To persuade the city of the need for a signal, activists have pleaded with St. Petersburg's engineering department, staged a neighborhood rally and, dissatisfied with the official numbers, last week conducted their own traffic count. The school district has requested that another study be done to quell the worries of bus drivers and neighbors, but as of Friday city officials could not confirm whether another count would be done. About 15 months ago, at the request of Childs Park neighbors, traffic engineers counted vehicles using the intersection, paying special attention to the school buses leaving the compound. Mike Connors, director of city engineers, said there weren't enough buses exiting and entering the depot to warrant a traffic signal. He said 72 buses crossed onto 49th Street during peak hours; 100 are required to install a light. Although engineers did not include accident data in their survey, neighbors say the intersection is a hazard for drivers and pedestrians trying to cross the street. On Jan. 24, bus drivers representing the Service Employees International Union rallied at the intersection alongside neighbors. The groups presented traffic engineering employee Bill Foster with an ultimatum to put up a signal or face more opposition, but Connors said he would conduct a new study only at the request of the School Board. Neighbors and union workers were unsatisfied with the city's response to the Jan. 24 rally, and in addition to demanding that Connors conduct a new study, they decided to take their own count Thursday. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, an activist group better known as ACORN that assists low-income communities, counted 101 buses exiting and entering the depot between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., with 2,209 cars going up and down 49th Street. A spokeswoman said two buses waited about eight minutes to get onto 49th Street. ACORN counted 119 buses from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with 802 vehicles using 49th Street.
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