Thomas MacMillan Photo
Faced with a line of school buses stopping up her one-way street every afternoon, Mae Huckaby got a chance to take her complaints right to the source.
Huckaby (at center in the above photo) was one of a dozen Elizabeth Street neighbors who turned up at the monthly meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Tuesday night in the Hall of Records on Orange Street. They were there to hear an application from Achievement First, the charter school organization that’s looking for city approval of a plan that would add new land to Elm City College Prep high school. The proposal would allow the Newhallville charter school to put in an athletic field next to its building at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Dixwell Avenue.
The BZA didn’t make a decision on the plan, referring it instead to the City Plan Commission for feedback.
Representatives from Achievement First got plenty of feedback from their school’s neighbors — not on the athletic field proposal, but on traffic problems created by buses at school dismissal.
Neighbors said that a half-dozen school buses line up on Elizabeth Street every afternoon. Even before students emerge from the building, the buses put out their stop signs, effectively stopping all traffic on the street. As a result, frustrated drivers are blocked in, pull illegal U‑turns on the one-way street, or even go up on the sidewalk to get by, neighbors said.
Achievement First representatives promised to sit down with neighbors to discuss solutions to the traffic problems.
Lisa Desfosses, director of facilities at Achievement First, laid out the plan for the new athletic field on Tuesday night before the BZA. The charter school company is purchasing two pieces of property adjacent to Elm City College Prep, she said. One is in New Haven. The other is half in New Haven and half in Hamden. The school plans to park on the new properties and convert its existing parking lot into an athletic field, she said. The school’s 215 students, who are largely African-American and on free or reduced lunch programs, currently have no place to play outside, Desfosses said.
When it came time for public input, Newhallville Alderman Charles Blango (pictured) and State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield were the first to speak.
BZA Chair Cathy Weber welcomed Blango, “the alderman of my ward,” she noted.
Blango and Holder-Winfield said they are in favor of the plan as long as Elm City College Prep meets with neighbors and addresses their concerns. If not, “like Arnold Schwarzenegger said, ‘We’ll be back,’” Blango said.
Lucille Lewis told zoners she’s lived on Elizabeth Street for 41 years “and I’m not a happy camper.” She complained about the buses backed up with engines idling every afternoon. Several other longtime neighbors expressed similar sentiments. One said teachers run out in the street to stop drivers who try to pass the buses.
“What we’ve got here is an operational problem,” responded Desfosses (pictured). There’s plenty of room, but the buses aren’t pulling over far enough, she said.
“We don’t have any interest in being a bad neighbor,” she said. She said buses could keep stop-sign use to a minimum.
Out in the hallway, after public testimony, Desfosses heard more from the disgruntled neighbors. Lewis put a finer point on her displeasure: “I’m ready to blow my brains out.”
“Why are people so dense?” she said. “You can’t get around six buses.”
Lewis said she was not yet satisfied with the Achievement First response. “They’re just talking. I’ve got to see something.”
Lewis and several other neighbors suggested the buses should pull over on Dixwell Avenue rather than Elizabeth Street. Desfosses promised to look into that possibility.
Desfosses agreed to meet with neighbors and give a tour of the school on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.
“We’ll make it work,” she said. “It’s important.”