Problem:
The intersection of Beacon Avenue and Lander Street in Seattle, WA isn’t a typical 4-way crossroad. With Beacon running diagonally through the intersection, nearby unsignalized crosswalks, and signal poles far from the curb, it’s not easy for pedestrians with visual disabilities to align themselves with the crosswalks, or even tell which Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) belong to which crossing. The city prioritizes accessibility at this intersection, which connects pedestrians with the light rail station, bus stops, bank, grocery store, and the local food pantry. Any solution would need to minimize disruption to foot and vehicle traffic to the intersection and sidewalks.
Solution:
Polara’s regional partner Advanced Traffic Products helped the city of Seattle to find a quick and affordable solution that avoided excavating the sidewalks for foundations and electrical wiring for new poles, which would take weeks of construction and cost the city thousands. Seattle chose Polara’s Wireless Ped System (WPS), whose surface-mount poles and solar power eliminate most of the installation time and effort needed by traditional poles.
Outcome:
Polara’s WPS was ideal for this situation.
- The city was able to install new ped poles on the existing sidewalk in a single day without stopping traffic or public transit use for construction
- The WPS solar technology powers APS independently and efficiently, even in Seattle’s famous endless rain
- Wirelessly connected APS buttons to traffic signals with the secure PRM connection
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