Mayor Ric Abel and Ohio University President Roderick McDavis assured Athens residents during a news conference yesterday that the city is prepared to handle an event like the shootings at Virginia Tech.
McDavis said Monday's shooting prompted administrators to take a closer look at how the university might notify students and staff of emergencies and train staff about how to deal with such an event.
You can never have too much training
he said.
The county has a system called Code Red that can be used to notify area residents of emergencies, said Doug Bentley, chief of operations for the county's emergency call center. The system can be programmed to send out emergency calls to local landlines, he said.
Abel and McDavis also said they are working together with their department heads to look at problems in high-traffic areas around campus. McDavis said he would like to have crosswalks where Park Place intersects University Terrace and Court Street.
Before Memorial Day, city officials expect to have lines for a bike path painted on the south end of Court Street near the new Baker University Center.
Because traffic patterns around the university have changed recently, the city will be taking another look at the traffic flow, Abel said.
The city also is considering a change on President Street near Bentley Hall that would create a bus parking spot and reconfigure parking. Buses for University Courtyard and University Commons routinely pick up students on that street in the right lane. 17
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Andrea Golby
