HERMITAGE City manager requests removal of obsolete emergency phones

A commissioner would like to see the speed limit on East State Street reduced.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Emergency telephones outside the police and fire stations will soon be a thing of the past.
City Manager Gary Hinkson told city commissioners Thursday that he would like to have the phones removed.
He said they've been used very little since they were put in more than a decade ago when Hermitage eliminated its own 24-hour police and fire dispatch system, joining the Mercer County 911 emergency call center instead.
The city put the phones in so people needing help in an emergency when the police and fire stations are closed could be put in direct contact with the 911 center.
One was put in front of the police station, and others were located at the fire stations on Highland Road and Mercer Avenue.
With the widespread use of cellular telephones today, the emergency call units are obsolete, Hinkson said.
The old phones are in need of repair, and the city is paying $100 a month just to keep the phone lines, he said, adding that they can be eliminated.
"I don't think we jeopardize public safety one bit," he said.
Limiting speed
On another safety issue, Commissioner Pat White said he would like to see the speed limit on East State Street (Business U.S. Route 62) reduced from 35 to 25 mph.
White said he's been keeping track of the many accidents on the busy five-lane road, noting there were 21 accidents with 25 injuries in June.
People are driving 45 mph and more, and it's very difficult for side-street traffic to get onto State Street, White said.
If the speed limit is cut to 25, at least people will probably slow down to 35 mph, he said.
Commissioner Sylvia Stull disagreed with White's assessment of the problem.
It's not the motorists on State Street causing the accidents; it's people pulling out in front of them from the side streets, Stull said.
"I don't know where they got their driver's license," she said.
Commissioner Bill Scanlon sided with Stull. It's people pulling out of side streets without making sure they have a clear, safe distance to do so who are causing the accidents, Scanlon said.