If another motorist dies this winter trying to use a cell phone that doesn't get a signal, will that finally be enough to get the approval process for cell towers in the Adirondacks moving a little faster?
It's been almost 10 months since Alfred Langner died from hypothermia when he couldn't call for help after he crashed his car on the Northway during a snowstorm near Exit 30.
So far, everyone from our state lawmakers to the governor have supported the idea of boosting cellular coverage in some manner or another. State Sen. Elizabeth Little and Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward have been pushing for temporary towers, at least, until permanent towers can be installed.
Yet after Verizon Wireless announced Thursday that it had submitted applications to the Adirondack Park Agency for three new cell tower sites along the Northway, the official response has been essentially, "We'll get around to it."
What exactly is the threshold for putting this issue on the front burner?
With the application in hand, the APA won't consider it until November -- two months from now. Why won't the agency consider the applications earlier than that? By November, there's usually a lot of snow flying in many parts of the Adirondacks. And a lot more potential for life-threatening situations involving motorists and their cell phones. That's too late.
We understand the APA is a complex agency and that its members are scattered about the Adirondacks. But this isn't some routine application for a septic system or putting a condo in a non-condo zone. The APA can take its time with that kind of stuff.
But this cell phone issue is life or death. And officials have had all year to come up with a solution. Now that they seem to have one, they're treating it as just another application. It's not.
The APA and the governor's office need to start treating this issue with more urgency. Stop worrying about what the environmental extremists are going to say. Stop worrying about decorating the tower to make it look like a pine tree or a polar bear. Stop making sure everyone who has an opinion on the issue is completely satisfied with the solution before doing something.
Verizon says it has to schedule site visits with APA members and do tests. Why does that have to take so long? There are only three sites, and they're situated along state and county roads. Check out the site for accessibility. Bring a camera and e-mail the photos to the appropriate people. Throw up a tethered balloon to prove the tower won't detract from the "Adirondack experience."
Then get something up. Maybe something temporary for this winter at the rest areas, if that's the best that can be done. But get something in place for now and get the approval process for permanent sites moving faster. If approvals can get done a month or two sooner, that's a month or two sooner that this security blanket can be put up.
But if there's no urgency among the people in control of the Adirondacks to get this done, if they treat this application like any other standard application, then it will take as long as any other standard application to be approved. And we all know how quickly that process moves.
The snow is coming. The danger is looming. And there's the potential for another tragedy.
If it happens because of the weather, that's one thing. If it happens because officials were too slow to act on improving communications in the Adirondacks, then that's another matter entirely.
Who then is going to accept the blame defending a process that was too slow to save a life?