By Jim Lockwood
The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton was awarded a nearly $200,000 state grant to fund new vehicle barriers to help the Police Department ensure public safety and crowd control at large-scale public events.
The state government on Sept. 15 awarded a $198,170 Local Share Account casino gaming fund grant to the city to support the Police Department’s purchase of a modular vehicle barrier trailer system, the city announced Wednesday.
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The barrier system can stop a 15,000-pound vehicle within 20 feet, and it can be deployed by one person in less than 10 seconds. The system will help police as they “protect high-traffic areas, public events, and emergency zones with speed, strength and flexibility,” the announcement said.
Scranton’s Office of Economic and Community Development applied for the grant in October. As the hub of Lackawanna County, Scranton hosts various large-scale annual community events that draw big crowds, including the St. Patrick’s Parade, La Festa Italiana, the Scranton Jazz Festival and Latino Fiesta.
This summer, the city also hosted two major one-time tourist attractions — a Big Boy Reunion of locomotives at Steamtown National Historic Site during the latter two weeks of June and FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament Fan Zones at the Lackawanna County Courthouse Square downtown on two weekends in July.
The new mobile barriers will increase the Police Department’s ability to help protect major community gatherings and other high-profile events, officials said.
“We are grateful for SPD’s ( Scranton Police Department ) hard work and our collaboration with law enforcement at every level that got us through a packed calendar this summer, including Big Boy and FIFA,” Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said in a statement. “This support from our state legislators will help SPD keep our community safe as we continue to attract large-scale events.”
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