Recently, there has been some concerns in the community about the number of basketball nets placed on sidewalks and curbsides for kids to enjoy some pickup street basketball. The concerns have centered, mostly, around the safety of the children and concerns with traffic flow.
As a parent, I understand these concerns. No one wants to see someone accidentally get hit by a car due to having some fun in the street. However, kids have been playing basketball — and other sports — in the street since our streets were first paved (and maybe even before) and that is unlikely to change. So, in order to make this work, we need everyone involved to do a little bit.
Obviously, all kids who are playing basketball in the street need to make sure they are being safe. Move out of the way for traffic, pick up and move the hoop at the end of the day, and wear colors that can be easily seen by drivers. While we want you exercising and enjoying the nice weather, we do not want an accident to occur. If you are going to be in the street, which is the territory of vehicles, you need to be very aware of what is happening around you. If you have the option to play on a driveway or in a park, please do that. I understand the desire to have kids playing close to home rather than away from where parents might be. If your kids are playing in the street, please keep an eye on them and remind them to be safe. There are speeders across the borough who are using side streets to try and cut down on their travel times, and while we are doing more than ever to try and catch them, we need parents reminding kids that they need to be aware of how to stay safe if they are in the street.
Drivers who are moving throughout our community need to be extra vigilant and aware that if they are using a side street, there are likely to be kids playing in the area. This could be on a lawn, in the street, or in a driveway. Kids can be unpredictable, and drivers should not be driving over 25 MPH on any side street for this very reason.
In the coming months, there will be dedicated officers to traffic control full-time in Lansdale and they will be looking for people who are driving at unsafe speeds on the side roads specifically. Despite what many people seem to believe, the side streets of our community are not intended to be cut throughs to avoid lights and the trains, and this increased side street traffic is the cause, and rightly so, of many people’s concerns. I am hopeful that a dedicated presence to this issue will show commuters that the side streets will not be a faster route and that a ticket will surely ruin your morning.
Finally, to parents and kids who are using the basketball hoops: please set up only one at a time. Do not clog the street with two hoops on either side of the street so you can play “full court.” It creates a pinch point in traffic that is even more unsafe than just the single hoop. If officers see hoops on both sides of the street, we will be asking the kids or parents to move one off the street to allow for better traffic flow. Additionally, at the end of the day, please move the hoops off the street/sidewalk so that they are not hit by cars, street sweepers, and are not in the public right of way.
I recognize that everyone gets frustrated when they must slow down or when kids are blocking the roadway. However, we can all get through issues like this if we are reasonable.
It is reasonable for kids to want to play a game of pick-up basketball in the street. They are kids. It is also reasonable to ask them to move out of the way when you drive through the area. Please work together and find reasonable solutions. If someone is not being reasonable, call the Lansdale Police Department via 911 and they will come over to try and mediate the situation.
We do not need a new ordinance or rule to manage this issue. We, as a community, can work through small issues like this and fine commonsense solutions that work for the majority of the community.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: A Busy Summer Ahead!
Mayoral Musings: Beat The Heat This Week
Mayoral Musings: COVID-19 Emergency Proclamation Ends In Lansdale Borough
Mayoral Musings: Juneteenth – This Weekend!
Mayoral Musings: Increasing The Ranks Of The Police Department
