Lower Burrell establishes safe exchange area for custody exchanges, online sale meetups

An area where people can safely conduct a custody exchange or online sale meetups is open in Lower Burrell.

The safe exchange area in the Lower Burrell City Hall parking lot includes cameras and signage.

Councilman Chris Fabry first proposed the idea to council in the summer.

“Being on council, I’m at City Hall quite a bit in the evenings and weekends,” Fabry said. “It is a very common occurrence to see custody exchanges there during those times. My guess is, they feel that it is a safe location in Lower Burrell, so it was my goal to make it even safer.

“I thought, instead of having residents doing their exchanges at various points in our lots, we would designate a specific area that can truly be monitored to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Fabry worked with police Chief John Marhefka to implement the safe exchange zone.

“The safe exchange spot was a fantastic idea by our Mayor-elect Chris Fabry,” Marhefka said.

The location serves as a safe environment for custody exchanges and transactions of merchandise and goods purchased through social media outlets, Marhefka said.

The first two parking spots in the City Hall parking lot, closest to the public works building and across from the police department, are the recommended spots for the safe exchange zone, Fabry said.

City police use video surveillance cameras to monitor the spots at all times, he said.