Fort Wright Police Department has been approved to purchase solar-powered speed radar signs for installation around the city. These will replace some of the current battery-powered speed radar signs. The devices aim to alert drivers to their speed and collect traffic data for the city.
The city of Fort Wright has been using speed radar signs to assess and mitigate traffic issues. Traffic-related complaints from concerned citizens have increased in the past couple of months. Studies from the Federal Highway Administration provide evidence that these signs are effective in decreasing speeding.
The current battery-powered speed radar signs are valuable to the city’s goals but are nearing the end of their usefulness.
“The idea was to have those portable [speed radars] that are battery-operated and try to move them around the city where we can, as demand dictates,” Fort Wright Police Chief Ed Butler said at the April council meeting. “But, what we found is the battery dies fairly quickly and the regular [transportation of the machines] was causing excessive wear and tear.”
The police department compiled a plan to purchase a solar-powered speed trailer and some solar powered speed radar signs. The speed trailer will be easier to move around the city and the speed signs will be “semi-permanent.”
Butler told LINK nky why they opted for solar-powered speed detectors over battery-powered ones.
“Basically, the ones we’re using now, the battery’s charge lasts 3 or 4 days,” Butler said. “According to our research, solar-powered ones will last longer and the battery doesn’t need to be changed as often.”
Additionally, solar-powered devices require a more extensive installation process. As a result, they will remain in one spot for a longer amount of time than battery-powered ones. This eliminates some of that transportation-related wear and tear.
In total, these devices will cost $11,471.
The city did not initially budget for this expense, so they will use part of the money received from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the purchase. Mayor Dave Hatter reminded the audience that this falls within the scope of those funds’ purpose.
“We received the [American Rescue Plan Act] funds from the federal government for the COVID crisis,” Hatter said. “We are required to spend these funds on certain items and by a certain date.”
Fort Wright considers these devices beneficial not only because they curb speeding but also because they collect data on speed and traffic where stationed. The police department then plans to present that data to council. This will inform their decisions on speed limits, stop signs, and other traffic mitigation measures. This will provide an informed perspective on Fort Wright’s current traffic issues and speeding concerns.
Fort Wright City Council unanimously approved the purchase of the solar-powered speed radar signs. Butler said the next step is ordering the devices this week and that they will likely be in place by summer.