Problem
The intersection of Kent and West Chapel Hill Street in Durham, NC houses the Duke University Center for Child and Family Health; a critical resource for city residents. With the public bus stop on the other side of the busy roadway, the city must ensure the crosswalk is accessible to children and families of all abilities. To help pedestrians with vision impairments align with the crosswalk outside the center, the city of Durham needs to install an Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) close to the curb.
Solution
Polara’s regional partner Temple, Inc. teamed up with the city of Durham to provide a solution that would improve accessibility for children and families. To avoid trenching through the sidewalk to run electrical wiring for new poles – which would take weeks of construction and hinder access to the health center and bus stop – the city elected to install Polara’s Wireless Ped System (WPS).
Outcome
With the WPS, the city of Durham:
- Installed an APS and ped pole on the existing sidewalk outside the health center, without stopping traffic or public transit use for construction
- Avoided trenching through the sidewalk to run new electrical wiring by powering the APS button with the WPS solar panel
- Connected the APS button with the intersection’s signal infrastructure with the WPS’ secure wireless communication
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