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6City Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 24, 2012 Page 4 I costs $100,000 and hangs over the road using flashing yellow lights. He stated the blinker 2 beacon costs $15,000 per light and there is a blinker beacon installed north of City Hall so this 3 system is not recommended because it may confuse drivers. IIe indicated the rectangular rapid 4 flash beacon uses flashing LED lights, which are often too bright to use in neighborhoods and 5 are currently approved for use only in school zones. He stated the in -pavement L,ED crosswalk 6 markings are relatively unobtrusive, sit even with the pavement, and do not require installation of 7 additional poles. He stated this technology would increase the yield rate and would have 8 approximately 15,000 lights. He stated the LED blinker signs cost $5,000 per sign and noted 9 that the City currently has an LED blinker sign at 29`x' and Crestview. 10 11 Mr. James Fladung stated the group's recommendation is to install in -pavement LED lights and 12 an LED blinker sign activated by push button. He explained this would increase driver 13 awareness of the crosswalk and would be visible for one mile. He stated the in -pavement LEDs 14 are at eye level to drivers and would not be obtrusive to the surrounding homes. 15 16 Mr. Ryan Schuehle stated the LED system is cheaper than other systems, estimated at $50,000 17 with minimal operational costs. He stated that maintenance costs are approximately $2,100 per 18 year, which represents the amount necessary to replace the system at the end of its life 19 expectancy of 10 to 15 years. He noted the system is fully covered by warranty for five years. 20 IIe stated this system costs $26,000 and installation costs are expected to be $24,000. He noted 21 this project was funded by a Local Operational Research Assistance grant of $10,000 and they 22 will submit a report to share their findings with neighboring communities. 23 24 Ms. Larson presented the final design plan for installation of seven in -pavement LEDs as well as 25 two LED blinker signs. She stated the system would be installed this year and an evaluation plan 26 would be completed to compare earlier traffic and pedestrian counts, as well as to determine if 27 the percentage of conflicts decreases and whether yield rates increase. She noted the number of 28 pedestrians not using the sign will also be counted to make sure the system is being used 29 effectively. She stated the evaluation plan will be used to find other locations in the City that 30 could benefit from this system, including Kenzie Terrace at Pentagon Drive, which has a 31 significant number of pedestrians using a crosswalk that extends across several lanes of traffic 32 with a small median for refuge and most vehicles do not stop. 33 34 Mayor Faust asked if consideration was given to putting the intersection on the south side of the 35 34`x' entrance. 36 37 Ms. Borgen explained that they used this location because there is already a pedestrian crossing 38 on the north side of 34°i Avenue, which was installed as part of the Silver Lake Road 39 reconstruction in 2008. She stated they were confident that the in -pavement LED lights would 40 be clearly visible to drivers and once the system is in place, use of the crosswalk should increase. 41 42 Mayor Faust congratulated the students on their upcoming graduation and thanked them for their 43 hard work on this project. 44 45 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 46