Sheldon, Iowa — The second-oldest traffic light controller box in the state of Iowa was retired from service earlier this week.
Sheldon Street Superintendent Dave VanBeest says the controller at the Washington Avenue and Highway 18 intersection has been in service since 1980. Replacement of the unit had been in the planning stages, and was included in this year’s City budget.
Previously, Sensors that were under the road surface on Washington Avenue would be tripped when a vehicle crossed over them. The sensors then sent a command to the traffic light controller box to change the Highway 18 lights to yellow then red, and give the green light to the north-south motorists on Washington Avenue.
The new system doesn’t rely on the old style sensors, but is controlled by a camera mounted well above the stoplight arm, which sees all four directions at one time. The camera can see from a quarter to half mile up the road in each direction, and tells the controller when to change the stoplights. VanBeest stressed that the camera is NOT one designed to catch speeders, just to coordinate the traffic lights.
VanBeest says the new technology even allows the camera to judge the speed of a vehicle, and control the length of a yellow light, if the situation warrants.
In addition to the new camera-controlled traffic light controller, the City also added some new lights mounted lower on the stoplight’s vertical mast. VanBeest says those lights are designed to be in a position that makes them visible to drivers, even at sunrise and sunset when the higher mounted lights are difficult for drivers who are looking into the glaring sun.
All of the lights at the intersection were replaced with more energy-efficient, and longer life LED lights.
City Clerk Angie Beckman says the cost of the upgrade to the Washington Avenue stoplights was $26,168, which had been included in the City’s budget for this year.
VanBeest says the City is planning to see how the new system works out, and may, at some future date, opt to update the City’s other two sets of stoplights, At Highway 18 and 6th Avenue, the City Park intersection, and Highway 18 and 18th/19th Avenue.
