Safety initiated at homes

With several incidents in the past few months, the crime rate in Milledgeville has been on the rise. Due to this, many students are taking a closer look at security when planning their living arrangements for the upcoming year.

The new Bellamy Apartments realize that people are concerned for their safety and therefore have included several amenities to ensure their residents’ peace of mind. First off, the Bellamy Apartments will be a gated community, which will help to keep random visitors out. Other safety features include well-lit parking lots and areas around the buildings, video-controlled access, and a courtesy officer on sight. These ample security measures are drawing in new residents at a steady pace.

Meghan Carfang, Junior Mass Communications Major, lives in Magnolia Park but is considering moving into the Bellamy Apartments next fall because of the high security.

“It’s not that I don’t feel safe at Magnolia, but the individual alarm systems at the Bellamy Apartments are what caught my attention,” said Carfang. “Locking the door at night does make me feel safe, but having an alarm system ensures that no one will try to come in. The courtesy officer that will be in the complex helps too.”

Security gates are a common solution to making people feel safer in their apartment complex. Although the Grove Apartments installed a security gate two years ago, it has yet to be used. Last year, they did install new electronic locks on the doors that have made a lot of people more secure in their living environment. Because it is a big iron gate, many people feel that it requires too much time when they simply want to get into their apartment complex.

Senior marketing major Kristen Petersen has lived The Grove for the past two and a half years and has always felt safe and never had to worry.

“The Grove is the first place I lived after the dorms and this is my third year livingthere,” said Petersen. “I live on the first floor and at first I was a little skeptical, but I have not had one problem in the past three years that made me question my safety, with or without the security gate. Although I will be moving out after graduation, I would definitely encourage people to live at The Grove.”

The security gates are what have drawn a lot of residents to live at Magnolia Park. The gates used to be open on a regular basis, but this semester they have really cracked down on ensuring that the gates stay closed.

Patrick Harrigan is a sophomore Magnolia Park resident and this is his first year living in the complex. He says the security gates helped him make up his mind.

“My sister lived here at Magnolia for two years before me and she never had any problems at all,” said Harrigan. “I feel really safe knowing that only residents and guests of the residents can come past the gates. I plan on living here in Magnolia for the next few years of college.”

Apartment security is definitely something that people are thinking twice about these days. There are certain aspects that have drawn people in to the different apartment complexes and everyone has their preferences. No matter what, the apartment complexes in Milledgeville realize that security is an important matter and are taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of all their residents.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 5 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry