Sgt. Kirk Sanders discusses the safety issues with the duplicate streets in town. (WNG File Photo)
SOUTHWICK – During Monday night’s Select Board meeting, town officials discussed a safety issue in town where, at least two streets, roads, and avenues have the same name.
As the Southwick Dispatch uses the Next Generation 911 system when there is an emergency, the map on the system immediately shows where the emergency is located.
Over two weeks ago, Westfield paramedics were on their way to respond to an emergency on Evergreen, but when they looked on the map, they noticed that there was an Evergreen Street, Evergreen Avenue, and Evergreen Terrace. Westfield ALS was unsure of which Evergreen was the location of the emergency.
Although Southwick EMT’s (Emergency Medical Technician) were able to get to the call before Westfield ALS (Advanced Life Support) and take care of the situation, it could have been much more serious.
“But in the end, it could have really been an issue,” said Sgt. Kirk Sanders of the Southwick Police Department, who is the safety officer in town.
Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson also stressed how there needs to be a solution to the multiple streets that have the same name.
“We can’t have duplicate names in the system, it creates an issue in the system,” said Anderson.
The other streets that are duplicates are Southwick Hill and Hill Crest.
Moving forward, Sanders and Anderson are in the process of working with the town to change the names of those streets to avoid any confusion, especially during an emergency.
