Call Boxes: Roadside Dinosaurs?

The familiar yellow call box has for years been a familiar and comforting sight to motorists. The proliferation of cell phones, however, means that California counties are reducing box numbers to cut costs.

Two California counties are joining local governments across the state in cutting back on the familiar, yellow call box. The often solar-powered sentinels along freeways and roadways are being used less these days, with more motorists turning to cell phones when trouble strikes.

"It's something that was needed at the time. But technology does march on," Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby said.

Few jurisdictions in other states are making the same move, but the trend could accelerate as cell phone networks expand and offer increased reliability.

An Orange County Transportation Authority panel voted unanimously in May to get rid of the call boxes as early as July. In 1992, about 150,000 calls came from the boxes. Last year, there were just 21,000.

Currently, close to 1,200 of the communication devices stand along the county's freeways. Later this summer, there may be 700 call boxes, spread every half-mile instead of every quarter-mile.

Also in May, San Diego County, Calif. officials said they would remove 370 boxes in urban areas where cell phone reception is good. Back in 2002, San Francisco Bay area officials announced plans to remove 3,500 call boxes along 1,000 miles of roadway.

Back then, some motorists said the move would impact public safety and would not be justified by reduced cost. A 2001 survey in San Bernardino County found 86 percent of respondents saying it was ?EUR??,,????'??very important?EUR??,,????'?? not to cut boxes.

A spokesman for call box-maker Comarco Wireless Technologies told the New York Times that the company was continuing to receive orders from around the country.

?EUR??,,????'??We have noticed demand for (call box) systems for parking lots, airports and border crossings,?EUR??,,????'?? he said.

Iain Fairweather, who runs Orange County's call-box program, told the Orange County Register the agency will explore an "Adopt-A-Highway Call Box" program under which people could sponsor a box for about $1,500 a year.

--Erik Skindrud