Mono County Installs School/Pedestrian-Activated Solar Flashers

TEMPE, AZ - 08/28/06 - Situated on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, has completed installation of solar flashers in two communities: Bridgeport and Lee Vining located along Highway 395, the main corridor from the Los Angeles basin to Reno, NV. The project was planned and executed with input from the Bishop, CA office of Caltrans.

The solar flashers are unique: they act as normal school flashers on a time clock and also include a radio activation function. In the morning and afternoon, the flashing lamps warn motorists of children crossing on their way to or from school. The radio feature was included since the schools in each community are located across the highway from the town libraries that are used by students during the school day. Each school has two handheld radio transmitters enabling teachers to activate the lights from the curb when taking their students to the library. Each mast arm assembly is equipped with a white 8-inch tram light fixture on the rear of the arm to provide the user with a visual indication that the lamps on the front have been activated.

Maintenance of the flasher falls within the jurisdiction of Caltrans. To minimize spare parts, the design required solar electric for the primary power source and AC power for the lamp/flasher circuit. The system uses a Solar Traffic Controls' Speed Awareness Display (SPAD) power system, and was modified to include a DC-to-AC inverter to produce AC power for the AC LED lamp modules. A NEMA flasher module was included for the flasher function. Timing and logic functions use a modified version of the STC-01 time clock. A license-free radio receiver unit with digital addressing was included to detect signals from the handheld transmitters. Installation was done by a crew from TDS Engineering and proved somewhat tricky due to the extreme winter weather in the Sierra Nevada range during the early part of the year.

According to Kelly Garcia, assistant director of public works, both communities have expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the systems.

About Solar Traffic Controls, LLC
Solar Traffic Controls (STC) designs and manufactures solar-powered traffic control systems for city, state and federal DOTs. Its primary products are solar-powered flashing beacon systems used for school zones and 24-hour applications. What sets STC's systems apart from its competitors: technical merit. For more information, please visit www.solar-traffic-controls.com