Sepulveda Basin Traffic Box
Re “A Sepulveda Challenge, Feb. 15.
As an engineer who regularly designs enclosures for industrial electronic systems, I read with interest about the problems confronting city engineers in trying to protect the traffic light controller in the Sepulveda Basin. I believe that the cooling problem associated with a watertight cabinet can be easily solved. While the 17-foot-high chimney concept is workable, making the chimney structure strong enough to resist wind loading without a group of hazardous (to people on the ground) guy wires would be a challenge. In fact, the chimney is not really required. Since the traffic light need not operate when the basin is closed, the watertight cabinet could have cooling vents that could be sealed manually with watertight doors when the basin is closed. At the same time, the power to the electronics in the cabinet could be turned off: no power, no heat. When the basin is reopened, the vents could be opened and the power turned back on. With the cabinet properly designed, the whole operation could be performed in one or two minutes.
The real problem is with the watertight cabinet. You can’t just use an enclosure that is watertight when exposed to splashing or hosing (typical for industrial enclosures). Since this enclosure will be completely submerged, it must be strong enough to resist the water pressure at the maximum depth that the basin might have to endure. Particular attention must be paid to the seals where the external wiring enters the enclosure. None of this is new; check with the engineers that build the small submersible vehicles.
Out of a sense of civic duty (and because I commute through the basin to work) I waive my usual fee.
LES LaZAR, Encino
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You have offered “the perfect senior project for future engineers or architects at Cal State Northridge” concerning a $6,000 traffic control box that has to be replaced often due to flooding of the basin. May I suggest you offer the challenge of a project that is costing many, many times the $6,000 in costs and lost revenues due to flooding of the back nine holes of the Encino golf course. My understanding is it will take 4 to 6 months to clear away the debris and mud and repair the damage to the fairways and greens on the Encino course. Aren’t there some bright minds out there that could help the city’s Dept. of Recreation and Parks find a reasonable solution to this costly dilemma?
LORY OBERG, Public Affairs Chairman, Women’s Public Links Golf Assn. of Southern California, Valley Village