Published: October 25, 2009 09:07 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Library safety spotlighted

City asked to address lack of adequate lighting

Niagara Falls library officials are asking the city to shed some light on a growing concern at the Main Street branch.

Library Executive Director Betty Babanoury has sent a letter to City Administrator Donna Owens expressing the board of trustees’ “serious concern” about the lack of adequate lighting in the parking lot areas of the Earl W. Brydges building. Specifically, she requested replacements be made to burned-out lamps at existing light standards surrounding the library now that daylight hours are becoming shorter.

“The library is located in a high crime area and there have been numerous incidents in and around the library,” Babanoury wrote in the letter dated Oct. 1. “Many elderly residents who would like to use the library at night or attend one of the many meetings in the building have told library employees that they fear for their personal safety because of the poor lighting.”

Children congregating in the area at the rear of the building and darting in and out among the cars in the lot is another reason more lighting is needed, she added.

Three days a week — Monday through Wednesday — the library is opened until 9 p.m. The building closes at 5 p.m. on the other three days and is not open at all on Sundays.

In response to Babanoury’s letter, Public Works Director David Kinney sent an electrician to replace damaged or burned out light poles which addressed some of the problem.

“They fixed up everything they could,” Kinney said. “All of the lighting there is working, but the area is not as bright as it could be.”

Kinney added any work to add new lighting at the site is out of his department’s hands and needs to be submitted as a capital project request from the library to the city.

“We responded to what we needed to respond to,” he said.

According to Babanoury, a key lighting standard that was situated between the rear entrance and the parking lot was accidentally knocked down by a city snowplow two years ago. The unit, which has never been replaced, lit the main sidewalk areas leading into the building from the back parking lot. She said the light needs to be installed as soon as possible.

During a board of trustees meeting Thursday, members pointed out steps have been taken to make the interior more secure, including the installment of video cameras throughout the building and most recently in the local history department.

“The problem is outside of the library, the lighting is not adequate,” Trustees President Dolores Marino said. “We want not only the staff to be safe but the people who come in to be safe.”