Hamburg ponders adding traffic light

HAMBURG — Traffic lights at the intersection of Oak Street and Route 23 were discussed at the first council meeting of the year.
Although most council members agreed lights seem necessary, the cost associated with the project should be discussed and known in advance of any agreement, as well as what portion of the cost would be borne by the State, and for what the borough will be responsible.
The borough had received a letter from the state requesting for an answer of what it wants to do.
Town clerk Doreen Schott read from the letter, “The borough should pay 25 percent of all cost to do with electrical projects.” The estimated cost is thought to be $50,000.
But it was not clear if a possible study on what should be done was part of the project cost.
Mayor Paul Marino said he thinks the lights should be put in place at the intersection for safety reasons, more than anything.
“That’s a bad spot, and I think if the state gives us the opportunity to do that, and it doesn’t cost us that much, maybe we should do it," he said. "I think it should be safety first. I think we should have a light there.”
Marino said the issue is whether the borough can spend to fix the light.
"Normally, we would ask for site plan, but right now, we don’t have that. The state requests a study in order to recommend to the council what to do. If the developer ever came back to that site, we would hold them responsible for that money as part of their site plan, so we could recoup the money.”
The letter said nothing about the number of incidents at the intersection, although that element is relevant to locals who need to feel safe.
The intersection was completed seven years ago as part of a larger road construction, a study was made, and the determination was not to put the lights in at that point.
If the project is approved, the portion would be 25 percent, Schott explained based on the letter and her phone call with DOT representative.
After a discussion of whether the 25 percent of the cost the borough would be responsible for includes the study, and the amount of total cost, the council voted to request for state clarification before making any decision, although they agreed to the concept.
In other business, how EMS first responders are covered in case there are any accidents when they are using their own vehicles to get to the scene of the alarm was brought up.
Marino stated it’s the State law that when the alarm goes out and people respond, they are not covered by the town insurance on the way if driving their own vehicles.
Anyone who’s involved in an accident is welcome to put in a claim for anything their own insurance does not cover, he added, but people should rely on their own vehicle insurance.
Councilman and new president Richard Law reported among other things the total calls to EMS for whole of last year was 513, and the total man-hours was 1,616.
Councilman Ron garrett said the courthouse generator is sorely needed, although reasons were questioned.
"The judges need it," Garrett said. "we can get a household size generator."
The generator issue appears in the security plan, according to Garrett, but the issue was table for further council discussion.