Manhattan Beach : Traffic Signal Activation
The City Council on Tuesday allocated $130,000 for a new traffic signal system that could reduce accidents with emergency vehicles by automatically setting a green light for fire and paramedic units approaching an intersection.
The system would equip fire trucks and ambulances with a device that would activate a sensor installed in traffic signal control boxes, according to a report by Acting Fire Chief K. Keith Hackamack.
The sensor, at a distance of one-third mile, would change the signal to a red light for opposing traffic and to green for the approaching emergency vehicle.
The system is expected to cost $206,347, and would be installed at 38 intersections. City officials anticipate that the state Department of Transportation and neighboring cities of El Segundo, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach will pay a portion of the implementation on border streets such as Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard where more than one city would benefit from the system.
El Segundo and Redondo Beach already have signal synchronization systems that are compatible with the system planned in Manhattan Beach.
Public Works Director Mort August said the new system could be in place in three months.
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