Tides and Tickets -Traffic Agent Blitz - Again!

It is said that the definition of "insanity" is doing the same thing over and over again and each time expecting a different outcome.

Over the past several years the residents of Broad Channel who reside on flood prone streets have pleaded to our elected representatives requesting that  some sort of compromise be agreed upon between the Police Department, (and especially) Traffic Enforcement and the community regarding parking on the Cross Bay Boulevard median during periods of tidal flooding.

Although always hopeful for a viable resolution to this problem, our pleas have been continually met with sympathetic ears but idle hands. 

Each year, during periods of severe tidal street flooding, you can always count on instances where our vehicles are ticketed for parking on the Cross Bay Boulevard median.

Knowing that this weekend's tides would be exceptionally high due to a "spring tide" (full moon) and exacerbated by the moon's perigee (closeness to our Earth), a notification was made to the 100th Precinct's Community Affairs staff on Tuesday, May 1st advising of the pending high tides requesting that the Commanding Officer notify his Police Officers and area Traffic Enforcement details of the fact that Broad Channel residents would be parking on the Cross Bay median because of tidal street flooding over a period of several days until the tide heights subsided.

Friday nights high tide (almost 7 feet) crested at 8:00 p.m. and was followed by this morning's 8:00 a.m. high tide which was in excess of 6 feet.

At approximately 6:00 a.m. this morning, as the morning high tide was starting to come in, Traffic Agent E. Thomas (Command T-402)  ticketed at least ten cars for parking illegally in the Cross Bay Boulevard Median "Safety Zone".

At $115 per ticket, Traffic Agent Thomas effectively removed $1,150 from the community of Broad Channel citing violations of a traffic regulation  without the common sense to realize that the violations are caused by an environmental issue (tidal street flooding) over which the community has absolutely no control.

It is time that our elected representatives step up to the plate to address this issue in such a way that a viable solution to this problem is achieved. 

We are not asking our representatives to become involved in this issue, rather we are asking them to committing themselves to solving the problem.  (The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'. )

Although this post will be forwarded to our elected representatives, because the issue at hand affects many flood prone street in our community, we are requesting that the Civic Association take the lead on this in an effort to finally achieve both a rational as well as a viable resolution to this long standing problem. 

Hopefully, together, we can put this issue to rest.

Keep in mind that we are still facing several more days of seriously high tides.