Pedestrian power.EVEN in car-happy Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , people do walk and occasionally have to cross streets--no matter how dangerous that exercise can sometimes be. The answer? The "smart" crosswalk. Three of these high-tech crosswalks have been placed by Caltrans along Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. already has four similar devices along Pico Boulevard Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. It is named after Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of California. and eight more are planned for Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Park Boulevard for installation this summer. The Santa Monica versions are solar-powered and less expensive (only $30,000 each). In L.A., 30 "Smart Pedestrian Warning Devices" have been installed around the city--with 15 more on the way--that use a video detection system to set off pairs of flashing lights. They are suspended above crosswalks and are quite different than the systems being used by the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. . "First we were using microwave detection with an infrared beam," says Glenn Ogura, principal engineer at The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Department of Transportation. "But we kept having all these false alarms. Dogs and cars making right turns would set off the flashing lights. The video system is costlier, but more reliable. The crosswalks really make motorists more aware, and gives them a little extra warning." Beth Rolandson, senior transportation planner for Santa Monica, believes that though driving is the primary mode of transportation in L.A., people should recognize that all motorists are pedestrians at some point. "Here in Southern California," she says, "most pedestrians are just people walking to and from their cars." |
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