In a first, Santa Monica installs solar-powered flashing stop sign

By Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times | Local - October 8, 2010

Santa Monica, which has long prided itself on being a green city, has installed its first solar-powered stop sign.

The flashing LED stop sign uses solar panels to power the lighting. Officials hope it will help improve safety by making the stop sign more visible.

According to a statement from the city, the sign on the corner of Olympic Drive and Avenida Mazatlan is the first of its kind for California.

"We have a constant problem with people doing the California rolling stop there and while we haven't had any accidents or pedestrian injuries, there have been some close calls and a lot of people complained about it so we wanted to increase driver visibility," Sam Morrisey, Santa Monica's principal transportation engineer, told the Santa Monica Daily Press.