It's Pretty Safe Down Here.....

Members of the Berks County Community Foundation team sometimes get asked, "Aren't you afraid to work downtown"? I think I can speak for all of them in saying: "No." In fifteen years of working in downtown Reading, none of us have either been bothered by anybody, nor do we know any office workers who have. We move around downtown, often at odd hours, without much concern for our personal safety. In short, we don't see any particular reason to be any more or less vigilant here than we would be in mall parking lot for instance.

But when we selected the site, we gave some thought to safety, particularly because we knew we'd be inviting people to use the community conference center. Actually, if you take a minute to consider our site, you'd realize it might be about as safe a place to work as there is in Berks County.

The most significant key to safety in a city setting is to be near activity. Think about it....is there anyplace where you would feel safer than Times Square? The sheer number of people there make it a really bad place for bad guys.

Our site has some very similar built in protections. There are a lot of eyes on our property at any given time.

First, the bus terminal that is a constant buzz of activity of people riding to Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York. As a frequent Bieber Bus rider, I know how many people come in and go out of that building--right next to ours--each day.

Catty corner from our building is a Reading Fire Department station which is staffed 24/7 and a constant buzz of activity.

We're also directly across the street from the Chiarelli Parking Garage attendant booth. And of course, there's "The Hot Dog Guy" Percy Price. Percy's been watching out after our corner for six years and I assure you nothing goes on in that neighberhood that he doesn't know about. So, from a "people watching out" perspective, this is a surprisingly visible and safe corner.

We also have a great resource available to us through the Downtown Improvement District. Not only do their ambassadors roam the area to provide additional security, they will, on request escort guests to or from the building from the Chiarelli garage. So even with evening meetings, we want our guests to feel secure.

Our corner is a busy part of the City of Reading, and that brings some assurance of safety. Now, if we only had a naked cowboy....it'd be just like Times Square.