NY - Cellphone plan a towering issue State wants to replace Northway's call boxes, but towers cause concern

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press First published: Wednesday, August 15, 2001

ALBANY -- The state wants to replace dozens of aging emergency call boxes along the Adirondack Northway with cellphones, a move that could also expand commercial cell coverage in the wilderness area.

State Police and transportation officials are holding informational meetings this week in the Adirondacks on plans to replace the 64 roadside call boxes. Police say the old two-way radio system is outdated and nearing the end of its usefulness.

"We're afraid that we're going to reach a point in the future where we can no longer keep this system operational,'' said William Callahan, project manager for the State Police.

Installing new cellphone call boxes would cost the state nothing because private operators would build them in return for access to the new cell towers, Callahan said. But the proposal is being eyed warily by environmentalists concerned about the proliferation of cell towers in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park.

The call boxes -- bright yellow with iridescent blue solar panels -- are a familiar site to Northway drivers. The boxes sit beside some of the most rural stretches of the highway -- from Exit 26 near Schroon Lake to Exit 35 south of Plattsburgh. The phones handle about 100 calls a month from stranded drivers and others needing help.

But the phones date from the late 1980s and their electronics are so outdated that they were among the rare systems statewide to be knocked out by the Y2K bug last year. Replacement parts aren't made anymore, so state employees must "cannibalize'' parts to keep the system running, Callahan said.

State Police have yet to submit a cellphone proposal to the Adirondack Park Agency, which acts as a sort of zoning agency for the park. Callahan said one plan under discussion calls for a 38-foot pole to be placed near each phone, although there could be slightly taller poles spaced farther apart.

The Pataki administration is explaining its plan at public meetings. There was one in Keeseville on Tuesday; today's be in Schroon Lake, and Thursday's will be in Elizabethtown. The state said it is open to alternatives.

The call box issue could become complicated because of a larger controversy over cellphone towers in the Adirondacks. Environmentalists and some residents are concerned about too many towers sprouting from the verdant peaks and ridges of the preserve.

In a separate proceeding, the APA is considering new guidelines for placing cell towers in the preserve. Members of both the Adirondack Council and the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks have called for limits on siting.

John Sheehan of the Adirondack Council noted the APA has so far issued permits for 49 telecommunications towers. The new plan could roughly double that number. He said any cellphone plan should minimize the number of towers and their visibility.

Callahan said the state is "very sensitive'' to these issues.

"If we were to put up, say, a 40 or 50 foot tower, that would be built back into the trees using stealth technology so the motorist and the person in the area probably wouldn't even see it,'' he said.

There is no timetable for replacements of the Northway call boxes, although the change could happen as early as next fall.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyKey=63931&category=F

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Answers

Seems like an embedded chip problem. Good catch Doris.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001