Parents: We Need More Crossing Guards

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Parents say there are dangerous crossings by schools in Lower Manhattan, near Peck Slip and Pearl Street.

"If we have crossing guards in front of the school they'll be able to stop the traffic and people will naturally see them, Stephanie Adams, a parent, said. "And it will make it a lot easier and more peaceful for us to get to school and not worry about the children's safety."

It's a frightening race for parents and students crossing West Street near Battery Park City, too. Many take the pedestrian walkway on Chambers Street to avoid danger, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.

"We definitely need more crossing guards," Trish Massino, of Battery Park City, said. "All along this area there are so many buildings so many children, the parks. It's really surprising that I only see one right outside the school over there."

Parent Vance Gorke helped launch a petition urging the city to add more crossing guards at schools in the financial district -- especially at Spruce Street and Peck Slip Schools where there is no agent at all.

"The only thing that's going to speed it up is if someone gets hurt and that's not acceptable," Gorke said.

The NYPD says they have money in the budget to add crossing guards here, but they say they haven't found qualified applicants to fill the positions.

"It's up to the people who review the application process and make those hires," Catherine McVay Hughes, Manhattan Community Board One Chair, said. "But this is..could be...a life or death situation."

The NYPD says it has no timeline as to when it would make those hires.