Residents ask Westchester Borough to act on Hillsdale school crossing safety

A resident urged the Westchester Borough Council to take immediate steps to improve safety at the Hillsdale school crossing on Bradford Avenue during public comment at the council meeting.

The request came after residents described frequent near-misses and asked the borough to provide a temporary police presence until the Westchester Area School District can consider permanent measures. "Please tell me to do something about this," one resident said. George Carr, who identified himself as a Westchester resident living at 200 D Baptiste and the parent of two Hillsdale students, said the family walks across the intersection twice daily and asked for a clearly marked or highly visible crossing so children feel safer. "Our desire is that...something is put into place so that our children feel safer crossing there," Carr said.

Why it matters: speakers framed the issue as an immediate safety concern affecting elementary-school children who cross Bradford Avenue each school day. Residents want short-term actions—such as a posted officer during arrival and dismissal—while the school district considers longer-term engineering or signage solutions.

Council response and next steps: a council member said the issue will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting so the council can “discuss it in more detail.” Residents said they have begun collecting petition signatures and plan to bring the petition to the Westchester Area School District when that district meets at the end of the month. Speakers also said they have already seen an officer at the crossing on occasion; the transcript names an officer, Officer Ziders, as someone who has chosen to station there at times.

Details raised in the meeting: speakers supplied school hours and drop-off/pick-up timing to explain when police presence would be most useful. Residents said drop-off can begin as early as 8:30 a.m., school starts at 9:10 a.m., walkers are dismissed at 3:30 p.m., and most traffic clears by about 4 p.m. One resident described a close call with a vehicle and explicitly asked that the borough consider "an obnoxious kinda setup" or temporary staffing to make the crossing obvious to drivers.

What was not decided: the council did not adopt a formal policy or vote on a specific traffic control measure at the meeting; the council member stated only that the item will be on the next meeting's agenda for further discussion. The transcript does not record any formal motion, vote, or timeline for a police posting at the crossing.

The council and residents agreed to continue discussions and to bring more information to the next meeting, including any petition signatures collected and any input from the Westchester Area School District.