New state funding will support public safety efforts in Colonie.
New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was in Latham Thursday to announce funding meant to activate a federal grant for public safety.
The Bronx Democrat says the money will improve communications services among first responders and motorists. $650,000 will be used to improve road conditions and post-crash response and the remaining $350,000 will replace portable radios for school resource officers. Heastie has been on a statewide tour since the legislative session ended in June.
“This is what government is here for,” Heastie said. “This is what government is supposed to provide. We're supposed to solve problems, make things better for the people in the communities that we represent.”
The $650,000 allows the Towns of Colonie, Guilderland, and Clifton Park to access a $2.3 million federal grant, Safe Streets For All, which was awarded last year. State Assemblyman Phil Steck, a fellow Democrat, says with the new technology, drivers could receive live notifications alerting them of roadway hazards.
“The 110 Assembly District is one of the safest communities in the United States,” Steck said. “We work very hard to keep it that way, and part of that is being on top of the all the new developments with respect to EMS and police.”
Together, the towns cover 30 miles of high-speed roadways, responding to more than 30,000 calls a year.
Robbie MacCue is the Town of Colonie’s Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Services. He says over the last decade, the town has seen 118 roadway fatalities. MacCue says the funding will support technology that reduces the chance of a secondary collision.
“We're going to do that through a two-part approach,” MacCue said. “One is exploring technologies with more connected vehicles on the road so that they can receive infotainment alerts if there's an emergency scene ahead, giving them maybe 30 seconds warning to slow down, and if an emergency vehicle is approaching, they could slow down and pull over, and that message could go over their dashboard.”
Second, MacCue says they are interested in other technologies that would share pertinent medical information with first responders, allowing them to provide proper care.
“Do they have a bleeding disorder? Is there a potential allergy we should know about? Do they have any type of advanced directives and all of this information? Again, we don't want to overload any providers just what are the top three things a bleeding disorder something that would indicate we should go to a regional trauma center instead of a local hospital with this patient, and obviously any nonverbal patients, it's always helpful, if they can't talk, that we could have an emergency contact,” MacCue said.
MacCue says the project is in its first phase and will be expanded as approved by the federal government over the next five years.
Other improvements meant to make the community safer are increased lighting, in-roadway warning light systems, and pedestrian signage.
