Slippery Rock finalizes new streetlight, waste receptacle designs
SLIPPERY ROCK — Borough officials are moving steadily forward with their plan to improve public safety and walkability through updates to their sidewalks and related amenities.
Slippery Rock Borough Council discussed designs for new streetlight fixtures and dual trash and recycling receptacles at its meeting Tuesday evening, June 16.
The work is part of the Community and Campus Connections Project, a $1.84 million group effort between the borough and Slippery Rock University to upgrade public safety and accessibility between borough streets and the university campus.
Borough manager Christian Laskey presented to the board Tuesday what the finalized design will look like. The new fixture will contain a downlight LED lamp to minimize glare and light pollution.
“You can turn (the light) to various levels,” he said. “We don’t get to pick the level. PennDOT will pick the level for us.”
Laskey said while the fixtures are finalized, the pole design might change due to fluctuating metal prices.
“Aluminum has gone up a lot, so the original plan for aluminum might go back to galvanized steel,” he explained.
Later in the meeting, Laskey presented the board with three possible designs for its new dual trash and recycling receptacles. The design will be laser cut into the cans.
After some discussion, borough council voted unanimously for the same design: a circular logo with the borough’s name written in a stylistic font.
“(The designers) had a lot of fun with the first one. I don’t think they had as much fun with the other two,” Laskey said about the chosen design before it was picked.
The borough and university received $1.1 million for the project through the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund in January.
Improvements include replacing aging sidewalks, adding new curbs and ramps for ADA compliance and filling gaps along key streets. The plan will also aim to replace 51 light poles and 74 lights, refurbish 31 benches and purchase 25 new dual trash and recycling receptacles.
Borough council took a step toward the work at a May meeting, where it approved paying $57,702.50 to Keystone Ridge for the refreshed benching and new waste receptacles.
Laskey said at the May meeting the benches will be sandblasted and powder coated, while the current trash cans will be replaced by the dual trash and recycling receptacles. He said the new cans will be a similar size and follow the same pickup schedule as the previous ones.
He said the new bins are likely to arrive by late summer or early fall. As for the light pole replacements, Laskey said at the borough expects to see them installed by spring 2027 at the latest.
