History and background
The City of Portland has had some form of audible pedestrian signal for
over 20 years. In installing these devices, staff worked closely with the
requester to identify specific needs.
In the late 1970's City staff installed buzzer-like devices at three
intersections on request basis. These buzzers were inexpensive devices
purchased from a local electronics store. The buzzer was only activated
with a normal pedestrian push button call.
During the late 1980's the City began using an inexpensive Mallory
chime as an audible device. It was installed in some fixed timed intersections
as well as actuated intersections.
By 1995 the City had ten signalized intersections with audible devices.
In 1996 the City decided that a more formal policy was necessary and
a process was implemented, which was revised in 1999 by a Citizens Advisory
Committee.
During the past five years the City has greatly expanded its program.
By mid-2003, the City had 53 signalized intersections with some form
of audible signal.
The City of Portland was awarded a Pedestrian Project Award for 2003 from
ITE and the Partnership for a Walkable America. The award was
for the Elderly and Mobility category for Portland's project to retrofit
existing signals with APS.
APS mounted over 12 feet high on the pole
broadcast speech messages at this location in Portland. City engineers
expressed concerns about intelligibility of the message.
Process and procedure
A formal policy was established in 1996.
City staff assembled a stakeholders group, which included representation
from the Oregon Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the
Blind, the Oregon Commission for the Blind, Independent Living Resources,
and other groups representing both the visually impaired community and
mobility instructors.
The policy was developed over a series of three meetings (see City
of Portland procedures and evaluation form in Appendix D).
Key points of policy:
Audible signals are installed only on a request basis.
The intersection has to have some unique or unusual characteristics
that warrant the addition of an audible signal.
Referral to a mobility specialist is required; this service is provided
through an agreement with Oregon Commission for the Blind. In some instances
the crossing problems may be related to a lack of user skills that might
be better addressed by further training.
In mid-1999 the requests for audible signals outstripped City resources
for the program. A citizens advisory committee (CAC) was activated to review
and rank the requests.
The CAC and City staff started with a ranking process similar to
that used in the City of Los Angeles.
Staff applied the criteria to ten intersections on the request list.
CAC made some revisions to the scoring criteria (See Appendix D).
Scoring materials were developed. The electrician responsible for
the installations and a mobility instructor from the Oregon Commission
for the Blind meet the requester at the candidate intersection to better
understand the user’s needs and concerns. After agreeing that
some sort of audible signal is a viable solution, the City staff person
and mobility instructor complete field aspects of the scoring form.
Information such as volumes and accidents is gathered by office staff
from existing City records and added to the scoring form.
CAC meets semi-annually to rank the requests.
Funding
From 1996 through 2000, the City used approximately $150,000 in general
transportation funds to install APS. That funding source for APS has been
lost. To continue with new installations, the City received over $200,000
in transit mobility funds from the local transit agency. However, that grant
expires in July 2004 and no replacement funding source has been identified
yet.
Vibrawalk pushbutton installed in Portland
includes a locator tone. The arrow vibrates during the WALK interval
and walk indication is provided from pushbutton or speaker mounted
on the pedhead.
APS types and features
Pedhead-mounted at numerous intersections. Pushbutton-integrated at
two intersections.
Pedhead-mounted device manufactured by Novax and Mallory.
Pedhead-mounted APS features
Walk indication - cuckoo/chirp, beep, chime
Extended button press to call accessible features on some devices
(no locator tone is used.)
Pushbutton-integrated devices, manufactured by Polara Engineering
and Campbell Company, have been installed recently with locator tones and
additional features.
The City of Portland has also evaluated the Vibrawalk pushbutton manufactured
by Novax Industries.
Special features Portland staff has worked
with manufacturers on developing features:
After 1996, in deference to requests of members of the National Federation
of the Blind, a technology was used that requires the user
to hold the button for at least one second to place a call for an audible
signal to make the technology ‘refuseable’. Button Activated
Timer (BAT), from Novax Industries of British Columbia, requires that
the button be depressed for at least one second to call the audible
indication.
Staff worked with Novax and McCain to take the speaker and electronics
out of the exterior Novax housing and mount them directly in the pedhead
to afford more protection from vandalism and place the speaker closer
to the users' ears.
In 1999, the CAC and City staff expressed a desire to find lower cost options
so that more intersections could be treated. City staff received approval
from the CAC to install lower cost Mallory devices. Since the Mallory device
has neither automatic volume adjustment nor Button Activated Timer, city
staff is careful to use the device only in locations
that are that are not close to residences.
Date installed
Between 1970’s and present
Installation
Installation varies greatly from intersection to intersection. Portland
transportation engineering staff reports that the largest problem faced
is with existing infrastructure. The aging transportation system makes installing
new wires in old, undersized conduits a challenge. Location of existing
poles also poses a problem. As intersections evolve throughout their life
span, poles for pushbutton locations are often located in areas that are
less than desirable for accessible pedestrian installations.
Obstructions, such as utility and sign poles, also are a significant challenge.
These obstacles often make placement of pushbutton locations difficult,
translating into higher installation costs.
Proximity of poles, in relation to one another, also has to be taken to
account. Volume level of the “WALK” cue and locator tone must
be loud enough to tell pedestrians to go, but quiet enough to not give a
false “WALK” cue to someone at a conflicting ped lane. This
can be difficult at intersections with odd configurations, such as islands
with separately actuated ped lanes.
Maintenance
Maintenance of equipment has been almost a non-issue. There have been few
maintenance problems although it should be noted that most of the equipment
with electronics mounted in the pedhead or pushbutton, is relatively new.
These installations are only one to six years old so there
is not a long maintenance history on those devices.
Evaluation
Portland tested a variety of WALK indications
Earliest sounds for the WALK were a buzzer and Mallory chime.
A trial installation used voice messages. The voice message typically
said “The WALK light is now on to cross 41st Street”. Although
equipped with ambient sound adjustment to increase the output as background
noise increased, the voice message was often difficult to hear.
Tones seem to be better for cutting through background noise in an
urban street environment. After the initial test with voice and tones,
the City decided to use the cuckoo and chirp sounds.
Community Response/reactions:
Buzzer - Staff received some calls regarding the annoying sound and
usually responded by placing some sort of baffling material around
the buzzer.
Mallory chime - The chime was a more pleasing sound and the City
seldom received any noise complaints, even though the chime was installed
in some fixed time intersections.
Contacts
Bill Kloos, Signal and Street Lighting Manager
Portland Department of Transportation
1120 SW 5th Avenue / Suite 800
Portland, OR 97204-1971
Phone: 503-823-5382
E-mail: Bill.Kloos@pdxtrans.org
Jason McRobbie, District Electrician
Portland Department of Transportation
1120 SW 5th Avenue / Suite 800
Portland, OR 97204-1971
Phone: 503-823-1773
E-mail: Jason.McRobbie@pdxtrans.org
