I hope there are not lights being eliminated on Churchiew. Much of it is a dark busy road that now has many pedestrians walking to Brownsvlle tocatch the bus. Just waiting for someone to get hit by a car, it seems inevitable.

I agree with you Christina. I would feel safer walking in general if an area was lit.

Churchview is already a narrow road and very dark already in some of the places they are talking about. Many people, inlcuding elderly and people with strollers have to walk Churchview now, where there is nothing even remotely close to a sidewalk since the Churchview bus was eliminated. Cars have to actually go into the other side of the road to avoid pedestrians in many places. 2 cars and a person walking would not fit safely all passing at the same time where the streetlight is being eliminated at 3127. So I sure hope the drivers can see the person. To make the situation more dangerous, ask the residents on Churchview how well the speed limit is enforced when even the poilce driving the road seem to dismiss it more often than not. I am not saying that they should not be eliminating street lights, I am saying they should not be doing it on busy roads with no sidewalks and many pedestrians, whether we are talking Baldwin or Whitehall. I believe that Brownsville is wider with room for pedestrians unlike some of Churchview.

I just want them to realize that pedestrian safety is something to be considered as well. In addition, as someone who drives Churchview on a regular basis very early in the morning while it is still dark, I don't want to be responsible for hitting someone I could not see.

Christina - So when the police did the study and then recommended which lights could be SAFELY turned off, your assertion is that the police did NOT take pedestrian safety into account. I understand the point you are trying to make but saying that the police did not take pedestrian safety into account thus causing people to be hit with vehicles because they cannot be seen due to the dark conditions is going a little too far in my opinion.

I just did not see pedestrian safety mentioned in the article. I have a great deal of respect for the baldwin police and the borough manager. It is just a very big job and I don't envy them that. With the street lights that exist on Churchview now, in many places it is still not safe for pedestrians. Not because of crime but because of the reasons I mentioned above. Of course the police and borough manager care and do not want to see people get hit by cars, I would never imply differently. However, no one is perfect and by me suggesting that the plan is not perfect is not attacking anyone. I hope the police and borough manager can also respect the opinion of the residents without getting defensive.

The solution to the sidewalk problem should be brought to the boroughs attention of the people that don't have their sidewalks fixed. I know in other Boroughs, Townships, make the home owners fix their sidewalks because an eyesore or you can't walk on them, the borough steps in. If this was Mt Lebanon and the sidewalk becomes a hazard they give the home owner 30 days to have it fixed and they start to fine the home owner. After so many days Mt Lebanon will fix the sidewalk and charge the homeowner to fix the sidewalk plus all the fines, and court cost. Even the city of Pittsburgh steps in when people complain about sidewalks that need fixed,. It is up to you to make a report to the borough when you can't walk on a sidewalk any more. If the borough doesn't know a sidewalk needs fixed and you can't walk on it then they don't do anything about it.

It would be much nicer if people took care of their properties including the sidewalks in front of their homes but they don't. These are some of the same people that don't shovel the snow and take care of the ice on their sidewalks either. If you make a call to the borough and complain then it will be taken care of.

I do know when I walk over in Whitehall and Brentwood and make a complaint the boroughs, they will come out and see what needs to be fixed then they talk to the home owners and take the appropriate actions.

It's always better to be safe than sorry. This potential problem on Churchview could have been avoided if Port Authority didn't cut the North Baldwin routes. We are all paying taxes towards Port Authority, but they do not service our neighborhood.

The entire effort is based on opinions. No body can state for a FACT that turning the light off will cause a future accident. This debate is much more heated than I intened by just stating a concern. This is why people should not bother to attend public meetings to express their opinion or use any forum such as this to try, unless the like to are are willing to fight and argue, I just wanted to express a concern. However, I do appreciate that BD did take a look although I think it would be hard to tell how dark it would be unless the light were actually out. I am not interested in sidewalks or the port authority, just expressing a concern over a light that costs the borough approx 49$ a year to operate. Forget it.

With all the advancements in lighting products they can't replace the lighting fixtures with an economical version. Maybe solar power if it exist. Maybe those new fangled light bulbs that use less watts. What's next on the chopping block, traffic signals ?

One of the street lights mentioned to eliminate was at 823 Brentview Road. Five days a week I walk up and down the hill that has a bend in the road near the street light. On either Saturday nights or Sunday mornings I also walk to St. Elizabeth's Church. So that's six days a week that I walk up and down the hill. There are NO sidewalks at all. When the big Febrary snow happened, my son had to drive me up and down the hill for a solid two because the snow was plowed in such a way that if a car came along when I was walking, I would have had to jump over the snow that was piled higher than I am tall. Baldwin Borough officials should think of better ways to save our money than to eliminate much needed street lights. Why were they put up in the first place -- for safety reason. That's why. I intend on attending the meetings to voice my opinion. Lois

Due to the seemingly endless one way streets near Holdsworth Dr, a tremendous amount of traffic has been funneled onto Holdsworth. Walking on the street is already stressful due to speeding cars. Eliminating half of the lights (one at a busy intersection and one at a fire hydrant) can only make the area more dangerous for residents and pedestrians.

REMINDER: Residents' concerns over the possible elimination of 376 streetlights in Baldwin Borough will be heard at public meetings on Tuesday, March 20 (borough municipal auditorium), and Monday, March 26 (Leland Park Community Center).

Both meetings are set for 7 p.m. starts.

bd
12:55 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012

The potential problem on Churchview is simply the opinion of one person, Christina, who asserts that turning off one light will cause a pedestrian to be struck by a car. That is an opinion and not a fact. Christina believes that turning off the street-light near 3127 Churchview will cause a problem. I drove that area just to see and found that a street-light about 2 houses away from Christina's will be left on. The area won't be too dark from what I can see. I do not see any safety issue for pedestrians unless you are going to argue that there should be sidewalks. Good luck with that since every homeowner would be assessed for putting in sidewalks and then have to maintain them as well......
BD - all that effort to "prove" you are right? You look like a crazy stalker.

In case some of you hadn't seen this update: http://patch.com/A-rKTf

Another update: http://patch.com/A-rVhN

Hi everyone on this comment list. Please go to http://baldwin-whitehall.patch.com/articles/south-baldwin-residents-disagree-with-boro-leaders-over-streetlights and take part in the poll that Mr. Healy put up about this subject. Thanks.