NO ACCESS TO SOUTH COUNTY TRAILWAY

Due to construction repairs, there is no pedestrian or bicycle access to the South County Trailway at Odell Avenue in Yonkers effective immediately. Access will remain closed until further notice.

EMERGENCY TELEPHONES ON COUNTY RECREATIONAL TRAILWAYS AND TIBBETTS BROOK PARK WILL BE TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE

Analog-to-digital conversion gets underway

The 40 emergency 911 “call box” telephones located on one hiking trail in Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers and along three recreational trailways that span the county will be out of service starting Feb. 18 due to a required conversion from analog to digital telephone service, County Parks Commissioner Joseph Stout announced today. He urged trail users to carry cell phones in case of emergencies during the approximately eight weeks needed to complete the conversion.

            The recreational trails are:

• The Bronx River Pathway, running in three sections from the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla south to Oak Street in Mount Vernon;

• The North County Trailway from Eastview in the Town of Mount Pleasant to the Putnam County line at Baldwin Place;

• The South County Trailway, from Eastivew south to the Bronx border.

“While very few of our park users have had to use the emergency call boxes on the trails since the boxes were installed about 15 years ago, there is peace of mind knowing that communication is possible in the event of an emergency,” Stout said.  The transition is part of what is sometimes referred to as the “analog cellular sunset” in which as of midnight, on Feb. 18, telephone companies will no longer be required by the Federal Communications Commission to provide analog service. The heavy demand for digital conversion nationwide has resulted in backlogs and delays in transition.

Stout said that while the phones are out of service, County Police will step up patrols of the trails and there will be increased presence of Parks Department’s staff park rangers. Maintenance crews will remind park users to carry cell phones. He said that “out of order” signs will be placed at each phone, and trailhead and parking lot signs will advise visitors to carry cell phones and to let someone at home know of their whereabouts. Trail users should also be aware of any cellular “dead spots” that they might encounter.

“Our emergency call boxes are one piece of equipment in the parks that I am happy to say don’t see much use. But for the safety and peace of mind our park users, we are making this investment,” Stout said.