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With his traffic-cone-orange hat and windbreaker and bright red stop sign held high, crossing guard Donald Ho doesn't exactly blend in with the brown, blue and gray houses at the corner of Maude and Bayview avenues.
But to make sure drivers can clearly see him—and the hundreds of Bishop Elementary School students, parents and residents who cross Maude at Bayview—the city of Sunnyvale lined the crosswalk with flashing yellow lights (embedded in the road) to draw attention to pedestrians.
"It's obvious, drivers are really slowing down," Ho said. "It's made my job easier."
Communications Officer John Pilger said the lighted crosswalk was installed in front of a school to protect pedestrians in the absence of traffic lights at the intersection.
Pilger said the lights were placed at this intersection because it is known to have high pedestrian and motorist traffic and because the site was given special consideration due to its proximity to a school. Pilger said the city looked for busy intersections around schools or senior centers when scouting locations for the lights.
Just as they would do with traditional intersection lights, pedestrians press buttons on poles at either end of the crosswalk to turn the lights on. Instead of "Walk" or "Don't Walk" signs being activated, the lights flash, giving pedestrians time to cross the street.
The installation was funded by a $20,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, with an additional $5,000 for installation from the city of Sunnyvale. The grant also covered the installation of a second crosswalk, which Pilger said the city is planning to install in the near future on Remington Avenue.
"If this pilot program proves to be helpful, then as funds become available, we would look at other intersections where they [the lights] may be beneficial," Pilger said.
Pilger said that in low-light or dark situations—dawn, dusk and during inclement weather—the lights might illuminate an otherwise unseen crosswalk.
"On a foggy or a cloudy day, the contrast of the lights and the darkness make [the crosswalk] more visible," Ho said.
More importantly, Pilger and Ho both said, at this time of year it is often still overcast—and therefore dark—when students are walking to school, so lights help alert morning drivers to children and parents crossing the street.
"It helps a lot, because it will attract the drivers' attention, so when I go out there, they will see my stop sign clearly," Ho said.
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Photograph courtesy of city of Sunnyvale