City officials hope the new LED crosswalk lights at Fourth and Monterey streets will last longer than others installed in town.
Hollister last week installed and turned on the lighted crosswalk and button mechanisms at the busy intersection where pedestrians often cross to get to the new San Benito County Courthouse. Public works officials decided to add the lighted crosswalk due to lacking accessibility for disabled residents in a soon-to-be rehabilitated underpass nearby, said David Rubcic, interim engineering manager for the city.
“It was determined that some kind of enhanced crossing needed to take place,” Rubcic said.
The city is spending about $35,000 set aside through the Transportation Development Act for the project, he said.
That includes costs for the installation and equipment. With the button mechanisms, pedestrians will prompt the crosswalk to light up. Drivers are required to stop once pedestrians enter the crosswalk, Rubcic said.
“It’s not a device that is going to force cars to stop,” he said. “They don’t have to stop.”
Rubcic called it a warning device and said it’s important for crossing pedestrians to make eye contact with drivers.
As the city turned on those new LED lights, it continues to address the malfunctioning equipment at another LED crosswalk – at Nash Road and Monterey Street.
He said the company that made the equipment, Spot Devices, is out of business. The city has switched to a new provider – a company called Light Guard – at Nash Road and the Fourth Street location. The city installed the lights near the high school in 2009, while the warranty has expired.
Rubcic said he expects similar Spot Devices equipment on Sunset Drive near Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital to malfunction soon as well.
For now, though, users of the crossings near the courthouse appear pleased with the new LED lights there.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the City of Hollister,” District Attorney Candice Hooper said at last week’s county board meeting, “especially (Councilman) Robbie Scattini and (Mayor) Ignacio Velazquez, who I’ve talked to and made this happen.”
