City plans to remove blue light emergency phones from the Hill

After much consideration and debate, the City of Boulder has decided against replacing the "blue light" emergency phones on the University Hill area.

Greg Testa, chief deputy of the Boulder Police Department said, "The decision was made because the phones weren't being used to make legitiment calls and, officers were responding to these calls when they could have been
handling other criminal matters."

At CU, the presence of the blue light emergency phones significantly increased in 1997, after CU student Susannah Chase was brutally raped and murdered.

However, in 2009 and 2010, the phones were being used for prank calls, totaling 351 from the emergency phones.

The locations where The emergency phones will be removed at these locations:
° 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
° 13th Street and Euclid Avenue
° 12th Street and College Avenue
° 1000 block of 14th Street

Although the phones will be removed from city property, CU still plans to keep all of the 60 emergency phones that are dispersed through out campus.

CU student, Mary Tilson thinks removing the phones is a safety concern. She said,"Even though I've never used one of the emergency phones, I think it's important for the comfort of girls walking around on campus just to have them around."

Testa said, "He doesn't think it will effect their ability to provide prompt and effective service to the community at all."

All of the money saved in the removed of the blue light emergency phones will be put into a Hill maintenance fund.