BOLLARDS EASE TRAFFIC IN NEIGHBORHOODS.

Byline: Daily News

VALENCIA - Traffic control is high-tech in West Hollywood, where road barricades installed to ease traffic from night clubs and the new Sunset Millennium center keep cars off residential streets, but open at the sound of a siren.

The city has installed a new bollard system designed by Delta Scientific Inc. of Valencia to keep traffic from the new shops, hotel and office centers out of neighborhoods.

The bollard system is the same type used to protect government buildings around the world from terrorists.

Vertical-lift bollards manufactured by Valencia-based Delta Scientific will destroy the front suspension system, steering linkage, engine crankcase and portions of the drive train of a vehicle hitting them at 62 mph.

Delta TT210 bollards were installed a decade ago on Hammond Avenue in West Hollywood to keep nightclub traffic on main roads.

``They have survived all this time with little cost for restoration or repair,'' said Sharon Perlstein, a city engineer for West Hollywood. ``Over the years, the bollards have been hit by a couple of cars going 30 to 40 miles per hour with no effect on their ability to operate.''

During the day, the bollard systems are recessed and remain in the down position to let cars through. During the evening, they rise to keep cars off residential streets.

When the Sunset Millennium opened, West Hollywood went back to Delta.

Bollards were installed on Alta Loma Road, turning the street into a cul-de-sac. The city's Emergency Services Department initially objected, however, because Alta Loma is used by emergency vehicles. Delta responded with a system of bollards that lower at the sound of a siren.

The city now is looking at using bollards in two other neighborhoods.