Case Study
City of Portland uses Polara’s WPS for fast-install bike buttons
Problem:
Known for its robust cycling community, Portland Oregon includes bike lanes on many major streets and neighborhood roadways. The city is installing crosswalk buttons at the curb for cyclists to activate so they do not have to leave the bike lane to place a call.
However, traditional poles for bike buttons can take weeks of construction to install, requiring excavation for foundations and button wires, and often require closing lanes during construction. The city needs a reliable, fast solution to improve bicycle detection.
Solution:
Polara’s regional partner Advanced Traffic Products collaborated with the city of Portland to identify an accurate and dependable bicycle detection system that would fit their needs. To speed up installation time and save thousands of dollars in construction costs, Portland chose to install Polara’s Wireless Ped System (WPS).
Results:
With the WPS, the city of Portland:
- nstalled the button pole on the edge of the curb in one day without breaking up the sidewalk to run new electrical wiring or lay a new foundation for the pole
- Used Polara’s proven and reliable accessible pedestrian signal (APS) technology to serve as audible bike buttons (iNS2 model)
- Powered the APS button on the pole with the WPS solar technology