Safety first with lit-up walk signs
By Carlos Illescas, The Denver Post 03/16/2008

Pedestrians push a button to activate solar-powered lights that alert drivers someone is crossing.

Elizabeth Overcamp, 86, and her dog, Spunky, use the new pedestrian crossing sign at Enderud Boulevard and Heritage Avenue in Castle Rock. ( Brian Brainerd, The Denver Post )

CASTLE ROCK — Vehicles fly by during all times of the day on Enderud Boulevard just south of Franktown Road.

With a hill and brushy trees, it can be a tricky proposition to see people crossing the street at Heritage Avenue.

But city officials hope new crosswalk signs (BlinkerSign®) that light up and can be accessed by anyone crossing the road will make that intersection in the Founders Village neighborhood safer.

"People haul on that road. I don't know how many times someone has almost run me down," said area resident Sheila Steinke, who was walking her black lab, Shadow, on a recent day.

The crossing is a popular area for students traveling to and from Rock Ridge Elementary School. Town officials have received complaints about motorists speeding up and down the road. A study revealed that a four-way stop sign or traffic light was not warranted, said Dan Sailer, traffic engineer and operations manager for Castle Rock.

 So the town purchased and recently installed two solar-powered signs that light up with lights around a diamond-shaped pedestrian crossing sign. Pressing a button activates the signs for 30 seconds, plenty of time to make it across to the other side safely.

It's the latest in sign technology officials hope will make pedestrians more visible to drivers. The LED lights can be seen in the daytime and at night.

 "It's a real-time warning to drivers that pedestrians are nearby," Sailer said.

he town is studying whether these types of signs could work elsewhere in the city. A handful of cities use them, including Boulder, Sailer said.