“impossible traffic” at the Ateneo Grade School

“impossible traffic” was how one ateneo dad describes the traffic situation at the AGS. we concur.

it has now taken much longer, at around 2 to 3 times longer to get in and out of the ateneo campus in the morning during drop-off and most specially in the afternoon at pick-up. what used to be getting in and out of the ateneo from 10 to 20 minutes, it is now anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes depending on the time. and that is just to get out and in to the AGS campus.

something is also wrong now at katipunan, on the approach to and getting out of the ateneo campus. traffic lines are now much longer, bumper to bumper and standstill traffic is more common. we wonder if the new traffic scheme implemented at the AGS is causing the traffic jam outside of ateneo. commuters and drivers along katipunan must now be fuming mad at ateneo.

pictures were taken on june 19, afternoon dismissal.

bumper to bumper traffic on road along katipunan. this reached up to the gate.

the other side is no different - bumper to bumper traffic on matheson road reaching all the college buildings to gate 3

double parking on both sides on parking beside the football fields across the blue eagle's gym

comments and suggestions posted here, to read, please click: https://wawam.wordpress.com/new-ags-traffic-scheme-comments-suggestions/

new AGS traffic scheme

an ateneo mom sent us these pictures of the new traffic scheme at the AGS. read parents’ feedback on the new traffic scheme here: https://wawam.wordpress.com/new-ags-traffic-scheme-comments-suggestions/

no parking beside lee irwin theater, turned into a curbside pick-up

the traffic scheme that AGS ignored

we received an email that contains a traffic plan for the AGS. the email says this was developed by a group of professionals on design and safety –  architects and engineers and was submitted to the multi-stakeholder committee for consideration.

this traffic scheme is very different from the one that is being implemented now which means this was not at all adapted by the committee.

proposed traffic scheme developed by professionals on design and safety

 Design and Safety Philosophy :  Separate Pedestrian and Vehicular Traffic

 The safety of the Children is the paramount consideration to the design of any Traffic Scheme for schools. The best way to achieve this is to follow the tried and tested standard of separating pedestrian streams with that of vehicular flows to minimize if not to totally eradicate accidents of Ateneo’s students—the children of the main stakeholders of Ateneo de Manila University.

 Design Concepts

 1. Enlarged / Lengthened Waiting Areas. 
 The Waiting Areas (may be covered later) for fetching and dropping off students shall be lengthened by about 6 times the existing lengths. This shall discourage drivers from fetching and dropping off students in the middle of the road which may lead to another accident.

 2. Central Waiting Area.
Pedestrian and Vehicular Streams should not cross as much as possible, therefore, a core shall be created making use of the Blue Eagle Gym, Irwin Theater and the Inner Driveway serviced by 2 Road Loops. The Inner driveway shall be used as a Holding Area where students can play safely in a gated (fenced) environment while waiting for their fetchers.

 The Central Pedestrian / Waiting Area (where the current faculty parking is located) shall be connected to the Inner Driveway via the existing covered walkway from the Cafeteria or the existing open walkway (usually reserved for teachers only) through the Inner Driveway Courtyard where the statues of the Holy Family are located. From this Central Pedestrian / Waiting Area, students shall branch out to the Blue Eagle Gym, Irwin Theater and the Pedestrian /Waiting Area outside the Inner Driveway.

 Traffic Flow

1. Gate 1 Entry.
From Gate 1, drivers proceed to Road Loop 1 and may drop off or fetch students along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas A & B. They then exit through the Collector Road toward Gate 2-B or park their vehicles in the Parking Lots.

2. Gates 2 and 3 Entries.
From Gate 2, drivers proceed via Mastersons Drive to Road Loop 2 and may drop off or fetch students along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas D & E. They then exit through Gate 2-B or Gate 3 or park their vehicles in the Parking Lots.

Drivers entering Gates 2 or 3 may also access Road Loop 1 via the Collector Road and may drop off or fetch students along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas A & B. They then exit through the Collector Road toward Gate 2-B or park their vehicles in the Parking Lots.

3. School Bus.
School Buses may enter Gate 1, proceed to Road Loop 1 to drop off students along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas A & B. They then proceed to the School Bus Parking via the Collector Road.

School Buses may also enter Gates 2 & 3, proceed to Road Loop 2 to drop off students along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas D & E. They then proceed to the School Bus Parking via Mastersons Drive. Students are fetched by School Buses in their respective School Bus Parking slots along the lengths of Pedestrian / Waiting Areas C-1 & C-2 around the Blue Eagle Gym. Students walk to Pedestrian / Waiting Areas C-1 & C-2 without crossing roads / streets.

 4. Faculty Parking. 
 Faculty Parking behind the Blue Eagle Gym and Parking of Administrators at the Inner Driveway shall be relocated to the rear of the Cafeteria where they walk through existing Covered Walkways at the side of the Cafeteria.

 5. Fetchers’ Parking.
Existing parking for the general public shall remain. Access to these areas shall be via manned Pedestrian Crossings through Pedestrian / Waiting Areas D and C-1.

top questions to ask on the new AGS traffic scheme

with little, major or no change, ateneo sooner or later will need to talk to the parents about the new traffic scheme that they will implement next school year. when that happens, these are the important questions they need to ask ateneo (in no particular order):

• what caused the tragic accident that killed grade 4 boy amiel alcantara?
• how does the new traffic scheme prevent, minimize or remove what caused the tragic death of amiel?
• did the school consult professionals or experts on safety and traffic management? who are they? their credentials?
• did these professionals or experts design the new traffic scheme? how much involvement did they have in its development?
• how many traffic schemes were considered? why was this chosen? if only one was considered, why so?
• what does the school plan to do with amiel’s shrine?
• if the new traffic scheme has little changes from current, why is that so? how will the new traffic scheme improve safety in school when very little changes have been done?
• why is the school doing very little structural changes or additions to the parking lot? it stands to reason that physical barriers and infrastructure changes/addition will control traffic and improve safety significantly, why are there few or little changes?
• if few/minor changes and no/very little infrastructure changes/additions, it means the school did not want to spend for these things. is this true?
• what are the school’s plans for it’s security guards – they are too few and ill-trained for the task of improving safety and preventing traffic accidents.
• does the school plan to have its own ambulance? amiel was brought to the hospital through the kindness of another ateneo mom, that should not happen again.
• does the school have an emergency response plan/program? the amiel accident showed it did  not have one.

everyone is welcome to add to this list, will post it here.

it is important to ask the tough questions as this concerns the safety of our sons at the ateneo parking lot. what happened to amiel was a very painful experience for all of us parents and our sons, the school needs to learn it’s lesson and seriously change things for the better at the parking lot.  just to remind everyone that this is no small matter, the changes that they will do to the new traffic scheme will mean the safety or no safety of our sons at thee parking lot.

an ateneo mom: we need more than rules for safety

I just got the 2009-2010 car sticker this week and I noted that a separate sheet was asked to be signed aside from the usual application for the sticker. The sheet states that I understood the traffic/parking rules and regulations of the Ateneo and that upon entering the campus I automatically agree to follow those regulations and pay the corresponding fines when I violate any of them. Then another sheet was handed out which contained the new traffic/parking rules and regulations.

Though the print was quite microscopic for me, I read through it and found that they even included how the new traffic signs would appear and what they meant.

One of the questions that I had in mind was regarding the speed limit. It said 30 kph along the driveways and 10kph in the parking lots. Will the guards be able to tell if a vehicle was moving above the limits? And even in Amiel’s case, only in the courts will the speed of Torres van be determined because it has already snuffed out an innocent boy’s life.

I know Ateneo is trying to appear to be more strict by coming out with this minor changes but what we need is a physical and / or structural development that will once and for all separate the students from the moving vehicles.

 -comment on this post: http://tinyurl.com/cyhko5

all of the vehicles that go inside the ateneo campus pass through metro manila streets and it’s easy to see that what works there are not just traffic rules, not even the presence of traffic enforcers, but barriers.

i am not a total fan of the MMDA but the way they have managed our streets is through structural changes. they removed obstructions to improve flow, they added barriers to direct traffic, opened up islands to allow u-turns and  applied small road humps to slow down traffic. the point is they did structural changes on the roads either by adding, removing, opening up or closing up the roadways.

sure they added traffic personnel but we are all witness to the fact that just having traffic enforcers is not enough. it does not work all the time. what seems to work on metro manila streets is the combination of first structural changes/additions plus traffic enforcers.

why should the solution inside the ateneo campus be different from what is being done in metro manila streets? they are exactly the same drivers who are in metro manila streets and inside the campus.

it’s a sad thought, but i think ateneo is simply just saving money in not doing any structural changes at the AGS parking lot. i am very disappointed that ateneo is saving money over ensuring the safety of ateneo grade school students in that parking lot.

is the money ateneo saving worth the next life of a boy that will be taken at the AGS parking lot?

amiel alcantara : may 8 – 74 days ago & 32 days to go, still no change at AGS parking lot

we’re started a countdown,  as of may 8:

• it has been  74  days since amiel alcantara’s tragic death at the ateneo parking lot
• and just 32  days till start of the new school year 

 

and what do we have so far?

• short survey – too little, too late
• no updates or announcement on the work of the so called Multi-Stakeholder Committee that was supposed to develope safety measures at the parking lot
• no infrastructure construction work has been done at the AGS parking lot
• with no changes, the parking lot awaits it’s next victim

and yet at the ateneo grade school, our sons are automatically and quickly penalized if homeworks are not submitted on time or no homework is submitted. when our sons are late in submitting or do not submit homeworks, their grades for sure will suffer and can even get a failing mark.

AGS does not practice what it preaches? 

the AGS has not learned a lesson from amiel’s death?

ateneo inaction puts lives of children in danger : amiel alcantara tragedy

parents who have gone to the ateneo for summer classes and enrollment have reported the chaos and dangers remain at the ateneo grade school parking lot. the parking scheme has not been changed, the parking lot is full of parked cars in whatever space they can find, children and adults cross wherever they want and there are too few security guards to control traffic and safeguard pedestrians.

the volume of cars are fewer than on regular school days but the dangers are still there. why is the ateneo not doing anything to safeguard the sdafety of pedestrians in the school? have they not learned their lesson from the february 24 incident?

parents also have said there are no changes in that parking lot – it looks exactly the same as it was before last school year. no construction of any sort, and no changes on flow. with no changes from before, that can only mean the same dangers and risks that got amiel killed in february continue to be there. that means, that parking lot is waiting for its next victim.

this situation should not be tolerated by parents. it is the lives of their children, the lives of your yayas and even parents themselves that are at risk. parents need to speak up, and speak up now.

amiel alcantara death – with no changes at AGS parking lot, it awaits it’s next victim

if you find out you, your son or any family member of yours feel really sick. what do you do? if you think something is wrong in your health, like something about the heart. what do you do?

you see a doctor, in fact you see a doctor specialist. if it is your heart, you see a heart specialist. or if it is your child, a pediatrician.

if a grade 4 child dies in a vehicular accident at the parking lot of the school, what should school authorities do?

first, school authorities will want to know what happened in that accident and find out its causes. then you set out to find ways to improve safety at the parking lot.

it is common sense to conclude that since a grade 4 boy died at the parking lot of the school, there must be something wrong with the design of the parking lot and the traffic management scheme being implemented in the school.

or at the very least, you know you need to improve or make changes to the traffic scheme and design of the parking lot.

when it comes to designs of parking lots and traffic schemes, where do you go?

you go to architects, designers and engineers who are the experts on designing parking lots for safety.

did ateneo go to these specialists and professionals?

since no changes or improvements in terms of  infrastructure or design have been done on the AGS parking lot, that tells you ateneo has not consulted the proper experts on the matter. if they did, it is certain there will be changes on the infrastructure design of the parking lot.

an architect and engineer works with physical designs and structures. ask their expert opinion and they will give you suggestions on changes to the physical design and structure.

we do not think that when ateneo asked architects and engineers on how to improve safety at the parking lot,  they told the school just to apply fresh paint on the street crossings, conduct educational campaigns and re-write traffic rules and regulations in the school. the solutions architects and engineers think of are structural, physical in nature, not psychological and mental.

who did ateneo ask to develope ways to improve safety at the parking lot? priests? english teachers? school administrators? parents? will they be enough? are they the experts in the field of design for safety?

since ateneo DID NOT consult architects and engineers on how to improve safety at the ateneo and the parking lot looking exactly like what it was last school year,  it only means one thing – the dangers and reasons that killed amiel are still present in that parking lot! the ateneo parking lot is awaiting it’s next victim!  

 

 

Comment from an ateneo dad:

Well, it is still unfinished. But, we must impress on Ateneo and the multi-stakeholder committee that they need to work to implement the SAFEST plan and implement it now when they have the time to test and refine it before the real flood of students in June. Anything less would be abrogating their fiduciary responsibilities as 2nd parents to our children.

Let it not be that in their rush to “have something in time for June” that they forget the primary criteria of absolute child safety in any solution that materializes from the exercise that this committee has embarked on. Allowing for a less than 100% solution again would be abrogating their fiduciary responsibilities as 2nd parents to our children.

 As parents and therefore stakeholders of this school, we need to be alert and ready to rally against a slipshod solution that is sold to us as being short-term and temporary. Such measures tend to be more haphazard, hazardous, and ineffective.  And, in many cases, temporary solutions in systems tend to gain a life of their own and become dysfunctionally permanent.

This will bring us back to the same unsafe and possibly more hazardous conditions as where we are today. Ateneo should seriously hire and engage the proper professionals to develop the solution.

They cannot continue to use the reason that it will take too long to design and plan. This is well overdue and the execution of a proper plan should have been done as late as 10 years ago.

I believe parents andstakeholders are not just looking for any kind of solution. They want the Ateneo to do the right thing and to do it well especially in this case that it involves the life and safety of their children.

Nothing less would be the expectation from the school that teaches the way to HEROIC LEADERSHIP

reader comment posted here: http://tinyurl.com/dewmcm

amiel alcantara’s death: no changes at AGS parking lot – a new accident waiting to happen?

“No changes at the AGS parking lot,
the danger remains.”

that sentence has bothered me a lot. i read it last night, i sensed something was wrong there. my intuition was kicking in so badly. i could not put my finger into exactly what was wrong there. but i knew i was worried for the young boys who study at the AGS.

i could not sleep last night thinking about it, so i re-read many parts of this blog, specially the comments from parents. that did not satisfy me, so at close to midmight, i called up friends of mine who are maried to  architects.

talking to them cleared my mind. my intuition was correct, many things are wrong about that sentence.

first, looking at the comments of parents in this blog. parents want change in the traffic system at the AGS, not any kind of change, they want significant changes. in fact the word “radical” was used quite often by many. many of the parents feel the weaknesses of the current system plus the apathy of the school administration and security guards on safety for children had a significant contribution to the death of amiel at the parking lot.

of course many other things contributed to it – one is perhaps the inexperience of the ateneo mom driver and even the current practice of  pedestrians having to cross that area where amiel died, but the current system and traffic design contributed to it by allowing the accident to happen.

from my talks with the architects this is the sense i get. 

• architects can and should incorporate  “safety” into a design
• the same way as architects can incorporate speed and traffic flow into a design
• the core essence of an architect’s job is to look into space and design and erect structures on it that delivers specific objectives. one could be to erect a structure for a home, or a mall or a parking lot.  the designs an architect does includes intangibles like cost, aesthetics, ease of use and even safety, to name a few.
• physical structures that architects design and erect on space affects behavior and the movement of people who use that space.
• in fact structures erected on space affects the behavior and directs  movement of people who use that space. they also deliver specific values.
• for example: walls and a door on space contains people into that space. ceilings on space gives comfort and protection from the elements to people under it. hallways direct flow of people from point a to b and prevents them from getting lost to point d or prevents them from falling off a window.

the above tells you that to improve safety at the AGS parking lot, to prevent another death, we need architects to re-design that open space, to erect structures that will direct movement of vehicles and pedestrians  and to alter or influence the behavior  of pedestrians.

that parking lot at the AGS where amiel died as it stands now is still open space. it looks exactly like the way it was when amiel died in that parking lot. looking exactly the way it is when amiel died can only mean one thing – the same risks and dangers, the same reason that caused amiel’s death continue to exist in that parking lot.

how can there be improvements on safety, how can it prevent another death to occur in that parking lot when it looks exactly like when amiel died?

the death of amiel told  us a very valuablee lesson – safety, specially traffic safety CANNOT rely solely on the good behavior and goodwill of pedestrians and drivers to follow traffic and safety rules nor just the actions of traffic enforcers. 

i do not think the ateneo mom driver and pedestrian amiel intended for the accident to happen. to both of them at that moment of the accident, this something called “accident” rendered useless the good behavior and goodwill that they had in following traffic and safety rules.

not even the zealous efforts of a traffic enforcer could have prevented amiel’s death. i do not think the presence of a traffic enforcer at the scene of amiel’s death could have prevented it. in fact, if a traffic enforcer was there at the scene of the accident, that traffic enforcer could have died as amiel did or sustain the same injury that amiel’s yaya sustained.

the point is – traffic and safety education is fine. but i do not think that is enough.

a parking lot is space. people and cars behave and move within that space, to ensure safety, it is not enough that we educate pedestrians on safety or make traffic violations more stern – what it needs is structures that ensure safety.

why then is the ateneo not erecting structures or altering that open space where amiel died? keeping that open space as is, means exactly the same dangers that led to the death of amiel continue to exist and may be waiting for the next victim.

a prayer is said at amiel's shrine at the AGS parking lot

amiel alcantara tragic death: ateneo dad – hire safety engineer to study traffic flow

from jonas:

ilipat yun parking area ng mga teacher…maglakad na lang sila ng konti…maski ilagay sa likod.. area will serve as an additional exit point…

Bawasan yun area para sa football field… aanhin mo ang football field na bihira mo gamitin… compare mo sa safe na area para sa pagsakay at pag baba ng mga bata… yun hindi ka pressured …. hind i ka nagmamadali…ok lang kung medyo malayo .. SOBRANG LAKI PA NG ATENEO…

ipagbawal yun temporary 4 lane loading and unloading zone 15 mins before dismissal time..pressured ang mga tao… na sumakay at umalis… nagmamadali… . cars and kids don’t mix….

lakihan yun mga sidewalks ..paglakarin yun mga bata… sa sidewalk… hindi sa gitna ng kalsada… train natin sila gumamit ng pedestrian lane… dapat may crossing monitor maski around dismissal time lang…

Mag hire ng safety engineer para pagaralan yun traffic flow sa loob…

Pustahan tayo… in 2 weeks bakasyon na… next school year.. nakalimutan na ito… balik na naman ulit yun impiyerno tuwing dismissal time…

wala silang paki alam sa safety ng mga bata… ok lang sa kanila makipag patintero ang ating mga anak sa mga sasakyan…

mas importante yun tuition fee increase …mas importante yun dalawang magandang football field .. take note dalawa pa ito… na bihira gamitin…mas importante yun malapit parking ng mga guro… bawal maglakad ng malayo ang ating mga guro… wawa naman sila…

click here for more: http://tinyurl.com/dc6njk

an ateneo mom on amiel alcantara’s death: THE ADMIN MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. CPRs MUST SPEAK UP!

here is a text that we received:

As CPRs we have a responsibility to voice out and make the admin listen this time re daily traffic and parking problem. We have made it an issue since the beginning of the year but on deaf ears! Now, the death of Amiel Alcantara of 4 Manobo and now the MMDA is in on it. The admin MUST DO SOMETHING already! My sons are so scared na to be alone now. We saw the blood on the the ground as Amiel was taken away to the hospital and the 5 wrecked cars and the footlong hotdog on top of the blood. We saw him buy it before the accident. The mom who took the wheel after asking her driver to fetch her son accidentally hit the gas and crushed Amiel as he was passing by. 4 cars in front of her were wrecked! She fainted after and taken away in a stretcher. I am so emotional because it could have been anyone of us!  Amiel has a gr 7 brother. Please pray for them. Thanks.