The emergency blue light phone located along Calder Way has not been used to call for emergency assistance since it was installed in June.

State College Public Works Director Mark Whitfield said the phone was installed because of concerns voiced by Undergraduate Student Government (USG) about security measures on Calder Way.

"It seemed like a good location for a trial basis ..." he said. "It was an area where we had problems."

Off-Campus Student Union President Kristen Kofmehl said that because students often use Calder Way as a shortcut to main streets in the area, the organization wanted to make sure the area was as safe as possible.

"I would say the blue emergency phone is an excellent way to have an extra option if you're in an emergency situation," she said.

Calls from the phone are directed to the Centre County Office of Emergency Communications in Bellefonte, at which point police are notified.

"I think it provides a sense of security to people walking in the area late at night," State College Police Sgt. Mark Argiro said.

Argiro added that State College police have not received any emergency calls from the phone, but have received hang-up phone calls from the emergency phone.

State College Information Systems Director Tim Grattan said the phone cost between $3,000 and $5,000 to install.

Whitfield said the phone was placed near the Pugh Street parking garage because the borough owns that property. Most of Calder Way is considered private property because many businesses are located there.

"The university can install a phone any place it wants to," he said. "The municipality has more trouble trying to place something like that."

Don Reed, Penn State University Police security systems specialist, said he worked with the borough to obtain emergency phones with "similar specifications" to those on campus.

"They actually get used very little," he said. "I think people feel more comfortable knowing they're around ... it provides more of a sense of security."

The phone was installed on a trial basis on Calder Way between South Allen and South Pugh streets, Whitfield said. The phone will remain there until at least June when borough officials conduct surveys to help evaluate the effectiveness of it after one year of use.

"We're going to see how well this was used, before we make the decision to put others in," Whitfield said. "We'll probably look at it this summer and make a decision."

Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said the borough paid for the existing phone and that there are no plans to add additional emergency phones until the trial period ends. He added that the borough would discuss the phone's effectiveness with the student groups who suggested it, including USG.

"Once the effectiveness is reviewed, a decision will be made to add phones, leave that phone in place or remove that phone," Fountaine said.