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Editorial
State's wireless plan a towering mess
A plan by New York State to erect a 250-foot wireless communications tower off Indian Road has local officials and Bellevue residents worried about its location. While there may be some legitimate health concerns in Bellevue, we do believe that the state's objective is noble and worthy. Unfortunately, its overall approach to the entire Statewide Wireless Network project leaves much to be desired.
A digital communications system that allows all emergency responders to talk during a crisis would indeed be a worthy tool. Imagine the coordinating efforts needed to send emergency crews from all corners of the Empire State to New York City after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Instead of making dozens, perhaps hundreds, of phone calls, the entire effort could have been done on one network.
State officials began to investigate a statewide system in 2000, under the guidance of the state's Office for Technology. A plan was devised in which co-location on existing towers was favored. Several factors were to be considered before deciding on the number, location and type of towers that would be built. These factors included visual impact, and "topography, environmental and aesthetic factors."
Sixteen public hearings concerning the system's environmental impact were held across the state in 2004. Some of the sessions were well attended, but a local one was not. Had Cheektowaga and Depew residents known that a tower would be erected off Indian Road, we're sure that objections would have begun in 2004, and not 2007. However, even state officials weren't sure where the towers would be built. "The number, location and type of facilities are not yet known," a March 2004 report from the state indicates.
The state offered generalities at its hearings. One response to a question suggested that the state would not reveal the locations of towers, citing protection from New York's Freedom of Information Law that denies access to information that could "jeopardize the capacity to guarantee the security of information technology assets" or interfere with law enforcement.
How can residents reach an informed opinion when they aren't provided adequate information? Did the Office for Technology fully investigate environmental and aesthetic factors around Indian Road? Will the tower have any affect on Stiglmeier Park, the Reinstein Woods, Firemen's Park or the Rails-to-Trails system?
It is not reasonable on the part of the state to ask residents to accept a project without full knowledge of its local effects. Furthermore, it is unacceptable for state officials to ask for public input on tower sites, then hide behind the FOIL law. It appears to us that the New York State Office for Technology designed a system of public meetings that would guarantee confusion, thus frustrating and discouraging the population from participating and staying informed. The public deserves better.
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