Title
Authorizing the Committee on Public Safety and Committee on Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs to hold joint hearings examining the lack of cell phone connectivity throughout Fairmount Park, which poses a safety risk to park visitors in the event of serious health emergencies or violent crime.
Body
WHEREAS, Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the United States, is comprised of a sprawling 9,200 acres of parkland and 5,600 acres of woods, streams, meadows and wetlands; and
WHEREAS, The Fairmount Park System receives as many as 7 million visitors per year, due to the attractiveness of its 206 historic properties, 368 athletic fields, 139 picnic sites and 34 miles of waterways. Additionally, Fairmount Park provides an unexpected diversity of wildlife, foliage and landscape; and
WHEREAS, The Fairmount Park System is comprised of 62 parks, including major parks such as Cobbs Creek Park, Tacony Creek Park, Pennypack Park, Franklin D. Roosevelt Park and Wissahickon Valley Park; and
WHEREAS, The estimated number of wireless subscribers in the United States rose from 243.4 million in 2007 to 377.9 million in 2015. This dramatic increase in wireless devices calls for the increase in infrastructure to support these services throughout our heavily trafficked parklands; and
WHEREAS, The current cell phone connectivity within the Fairmount Park System is insufficient. Due to the lack of coverage throughout Fairmount Park's 215 miles of recreational trails, park visitors who have suffered medical emergencies on the trail have not received adequate prompt medical care; and
WHEREAS, Many park users are unable to report instances of crime in a timely manner due to cellular dead-zones within the park. These crimes include assaults, illegal use of firearms, attacks by stray dogs and vandalism of and theft from vehicles; and
WHEREAS, Minimal cell phone connectivity is aggravated by the lack of reference points that are able to be mapped wi...
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