One thing most drivers comment on when coming to Portland for the first time is how accommodating the streets are for pedestrians. All along busy streets like Division, Hawthorne, and Belmont, striped crosswalks mark places where a dog-walker, skateboarder, or baby-stroller-pushing mom can simply step off the curb and get the right-of-way, with cars stopping almost instantaneously on both sides of traffic. This system works pretty well, but studies have shown that lighted signals and flashing crosswalk signs really make a difference when it comes to driver comfort and awareness and pedestrian safety. A popular crossing point in Gresham, near the city’s new skate park on West Powell Boulevard, will soon feature a solar powered crosswalk signal, the city’s first, to aid traffic flow.
Set to be up and running as soon as the second week of September, the signal is one of four planned installations of solar-powered crosswalks in Gresham. While many crosswalks in Portland have signal lights, reflective markers, or are on busy-enough streets that drivers are slowed down enough to see the pedestrians attempting to cross, most Gresham crossings are not as well-equipped.
The solar-powered lights will better alert drivers to the crossing of pedestrians by flashing a rectangular yellow LED beacon activated by pedestrians on either side of the street as well as on the traffic median. The lights can be seen in daylight up to 1,000 feet away, and at night can be seen for up to a mile! The solar lights are water resistant, effective to 176 degrees, will charge in 3 hours time and will stay lit up to 16 hours. Plus, they don’t require any construction, wiring, or digging, so they are cost effective and energy-efficient. Way to go, Gresham!
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