Bradford PD Gets New Segways

Left, Bradford City Police Officer Mike Ward trains on one of the police department's new Segway machines Tuesday morning at Callahan Park. Below, Rob Havsrath of Segway of Western New York shows off some features of the machine to Police Chief Mike Close, while Bradford Area High School student Caitlin Szczupak records the training as part of her senior project.



Bradford City Police Officers Chris Lucco, Jason Daugherty and Mike Ward check out a Segway.

The machines are part of a community safety effort for our downtown area. The City of Bradford was awarded compensation for two (I) 2 Segway machines as a result of a Community Safety Initiative grant made available to Elm Street Communities through the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. Proposals needed to address revitalizing core communities within the commonwealth by addressing safety and cleanliness issues.

The grants proposals needed to explore innovative approaches to enhancing community safety. The proposals were judged on: ease of implementation, sustainability, area of impact, ability to measure outcomes, timing, innovativeness, and if the project could be easily replicated. 13 proposals totaling $620,000 were submitted. With only $175,000 allocated toward this initiative 6 proposals were funded: City of Bradford, City of Washington, Inner City-Lancaster, James Street-Lancaster, South Side Slope-Pittsburgh, and Olde Towne East-York.