Oct 9, 2020 2 min read

Residents in the eastern, rural parts of South Strabane Township have recently signed a petition in an attempt to bring faster, more consistent internet access to their homes.

Meyers Road resident Craig Uram presented the petition and concerns to the township supervisors last month. Uram, who works for Trinity School District, said that since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March many families in the township have been trying to work from home.

“If you have multiple people working from home, it’s hard to keep everyone online at the same time,” he said. “We started to ask what we have to do to get better service out here.”

Uram wanted to put together a petition to see if the township would join in conversations with Comcast, which services the area.

Township manager Brandon Stanick said the township, acting as “facilitator,” began discussing the situation with Comcast earlier this year. The cost for constructing a new service line would have been too high, so Stanick has been discussing with Comcast “alternative strategies which may involve the township,” he said.

“They have internet service there, but it’s not a very acceptable standard,” Stanick said.

Another petition Uram brought before the supervisors, signed by about 40 residents, is to bring public water to that part of the township. Uram said that many homes in the area use well water and that his home is two-tenths of a mile from water.

“We’re really not looking to cause a problem,” Uram said. “We’re just trying to bring some higher-quality services into our area.”

Stanick said that petition was forwarded to Pennsylvania American Water so it could review the feasibility and costs involved with bringing water service to that area. He said he expects to hear feedback in the next few weeks.

“It’s challenging on all fronts,” Stanick said. “The issue becomes bringing quality public services where that infrastructure just doesn’t exist. It’s a part of the township that’s just not developing as quickly as the western part.”