On Wednesday March 8th, a meeting was held in the city of Los Angeles regarding a small community and a private school. The issue was about the community and their loss of privacy when a private Jewish day school moved its campus into the neighborhood. The main concern was about the traffic around the neighborhood being that there is a public school that is right across the street from it. This particular neighborhood can be classified as being a well- to- do, upper- middle- class residency.
The school happens to be classified along the same lines as well. The players in the meeting that was held on this night were L.A. city council members and A Sergeant from the police along with representatives from the school and neighborhood. The meeting convened at 8pm at the school itself in an auditorium. The Council Members and representatives from the school sat at a long table facing the numerous neighbors and parents.
The meeting began with a brief introduction about the school and how the traffic issue was handled in the last neighborhood. The meeting was conducted in a very orderly and maintained fashion, allowing everyone the chance to speak and be heard. A hot issue arose about a particular street by the name of McCadden. This street is a very expensive and well-maintained street where neighbors are quite concerned with the upkeep of their homes. The idea that more traffic was to be brought onto the street thereby disturbing the peace and maybe even the neighborhood was something that the residence did not want to see happen.
At one point during the meeting there were loud outbursts by the residence about not allowing the school to move into the neighborhood at all. The Councilmen and the sergeant settled these outbursts. The meeting was over at about 10pm when guidelines were settled upon about the traffic the school would have to follow. The guidelines were that the school must have the kids dropped off and picked up in a half- hours time between the hours of 7:30am and 4:30pm. Any child that has been left at school past the half- hour will result in the school receiving a fine.
During the pick up and drop off peak hours the street McCadden may not be used and anyone caught driving on the street will receive a fine from the city. This experience was extremely interesting to me because it allowed me to see how residents and citizens react in a time of turmoil however small it may be. It allowed me to see on some level how guidelines can have the same affect as laws when given by the city. It also allowed me to participate in something that I had a particular interest in being that my siblings attend that school and are driven by my mother. All in all it was an insightful experience.
