Greenwich, CT helps kids get to school safely with radar signs
Safer School Roads
Greenwich, CT works to ensure that the roads around its schools are safe for students with Traffic Logix SafePace 100 speed signs and school zone beacon system.
The City
A picturesque town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Greenwich has been ranked #1 by CNN and Money on its list of the hundred best places to live in the US. The upscale community is family friendly and is dedicated to the safety of its youngest citizens.
The Challenge
Greenwich has long had safety measures in place to keep traffic moving at a safe pace around its schools and to keep students safe as they arrive and depart each day. The primary solutions used around Greenwich schools in the past were overhead “Your Speed” signs that were hung on span wire over roadways. However, these models were outdated and the highway division was having trouble obtaining parts and conducting maintenance on them.
The Town was in need of:
- New speed display signs that were highly visible and easy to maintain
- Signs that could be configured with flashing beacons to enhance driver awareness of school zones
- The ability to collect data on driver behaviour with user friendly reports
- Remote sign management so that all of the schools’ signs could be programmed from one location without the need to visit each individual sign
The Solution
With a clear idea of the type of solutions they wanted to install in their school zones, Greenwich was on the lookout for signs that would provide the features they needed. Jim Michael, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, noticed several effective Your Speed signs installed in nearby communities as he drove to work each day and requested that the Town find similar solutions for their own roads.
Melissa Evans, the Traffic Operations Coordinator for Greenwich, obtained several quotes for speed display signs with school zone beacons that she thought could meet the Town’s needs, including from Traffic Logix. Greenwich has used Traffic Logix speed humps in the past and was already familiar with the company’s excellent reputation and customer service.
“We found pretty similar specs and pricing on a couple solutions but we chose Traffic Logix because we’ve worked with them in the past and knew we could count on them. Not only are their products well engineered and industry leading, but their customer service is just outstanding. That’s what really sold us on the SafePace signs,” said Ms. Evans.
The SafePace 100 radar signs being installed at the Greenwich schools offer:
- Exceptional visibility of the LED digits so that drivers can clearly see their speeds
- Lightweight, compact design that is easy to install and doesn’t obstruct driver or resident views
- Speed violator strobe and flashing digits to alert drivers who exceed threshold speeds
- Flashing beacons to alert drivers that they are in a school zone
- Data collection that offers valuable traffic data and reports for analysis
- Remote management via the SafePace Cloud so that data from all the signs can be viewed and programmed from anywhere with an internet connection
The Benefits
The new sign program at Greenwich schools is well underway and has been met with enthusiasm by school PTAs, principals, and local residents. As part of Phase I of the program, 22 cloud enabled SafePace 100 signswith school zone beacons have been installed on streets near 13 public schools. The signs are currently being programmed and tested so that they will be fully operational when students head back to school. Funding has been obtained through a CMAQ grant award for Phase 2, which will involve installation at 10 local private schools and is slated for early in the 2016/2017 school year.
The new signs will alert drivers as they approach Greenwich’s schools and remind them to observe school zone speed laws. Programmable to operate based on times of day, week, or month, the SafePace signs and beacons give the Town the flexibility and control they ensure that students can get to and from school safely.
- Updated Solution- The SafePace signs replaced outdated speed display signs and can be monitored, managed, and programmed remotely.
- Integrated Beacons- In addition to flashing strobes and digits, the integrated school zone beacons ensure that drivers know they’re driving in a school zone.
- Relationship- Buying from a company the Town knows it can trust based on past experience provides the security that any potential challenges or updates will be addressed as needed.
