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Safety for traveling at public airports is paramount!
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Traveling through airport terminals
Greetings!
When traveling through any airport the experience of crossing from the parking area or a shuttle vehicle to the airport terminal can be harrowing. Sometimes it seems that simply crossing the street to or from the terminal can be more dangerous than the flight itself. Our traffic calming system, which we call the Smart Crosswalk™, has greatly reduced this travel hazard at numerous airports. This is known as an In-Roadway Warning Light (IRWL) system and is federally approved (MUTCD Section 4N). For example, we have these systems at the Sonoma County Regional Airport, Santa Rosa, CA; John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA; DFW in Dallas, TX; Hobby Airport in Houston, TX. In addition, 30 new IRWL crosswalks are being installed at Miami International Airport, Miami FL. This summer at the Nashville Metro Airport in Nashville, TN. 6 new IRWL systems will be installed. To see a short video of our IRWL enhanced crosswalk airport installations Click Here We have reprinted below a press release from Hobby Airport and a recent magazine article highlighting our Smart Crosswalk™ system at our local Sonoma County Regional airport. |
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Click on image to see
LightGuard System™ Patent |
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A "LIGHT" TOUCH FOR HOBBY AIRPORT
New Safety and Warning Light System Installed
A new In-Roadway Warning Light system (IRWL) is now guarding the
path for pedestrians and attracting attention from drivers at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). The so called, Smart Crosswalk™ system, includes a series of fourteen separate pedestrian crossings embedded with lights, located in front of the airport terminal and the parking garage. The system is designed to augment public safety and provide more efficient and orderly movement.
"We have quite a bit of traffic in that area of the airport and this was a project to enhance safety for those on foot and make drivers more aware," says Mary Case, airport manager for Hobby Airport. "We understand what it is like to make your way through the airport environment while traveling with small children, those needing extra assistance or just a lot of luggage, so this new lighting system should make getting to and from the terminal and garage a little easier, which makes it a safety and customer service plus for the airport," says Case.
The IRWL enhanced crosswalk system- designed by LightGuard Systems - is a series of in-pavement signal lights strung across the road along side and in front of the crosswalk lines. These signal lights are positioned toward approaching traffic. A flashing light pattern used for the system was scientifically designed to capture and hold a driver's attention, while clearly defining the pedestrian zone.
Adjacent LED enhanced pedestrian crossing signs are positioned at the parking area entrance. They are synchronized to flash at the same flash rate and in conjunction with the crosswalk system. The inventor, Mike Harrison, was a commercial pilot who developed the idea using the concept employed for airport runway lighting systems.
Hobby Airport - which served more than 8.8 million passengers in 2008 - is one of only two airports in Texas featuring the Smart Crosswalk system.
Press Release from Houston Airport Services
September 23, 2009
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Hobby airport traveling pedestrians - IRWL enhanced crosswalk
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"Passenger Safety Ahead"
By Rebecca Kanable
for Airport Improvements magazine
 Before "traffic-calming" devices were put in place, Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport had problems with motorists "flying by" the airport terminal.
Because the airport is located at the end of a main thoroughfare in a busy industrial area, drivers often passed where they needed to go and would take a 90-degree turn and drive past the terminal. Trying to make up for lost time, motorists were going much faster than the posted 15 mph speed limit.
Michael Harrison, president/CEO and founder of LightGuard Systems, had a solution: Before the 90-degree turn, an ActiveWarning(tm) sign from LightGuard now lets drivers know there's a sharp turn ahead. The sign has a radar system that can determine if approaching vehicles are going more than 30 mph. If they are, flashing LED lights are activated along with two smaller chevron signs that remind motorists to obey the posted speed limit. 
The airport's Smart Crosswalk(tm) System from LightGuard Systems also uses flashing LED lights to catch the attention of motorists. The lights line each side of the crosswalk and are hardwired into the pavement.
The rate of the flashing lights, tradenamed as Enlighten 1(tm), was developed in cooperation with University of California, Berkley's Vision Detection Laboratory to capture and hold drivers' attention.
Harrison, a former corporate pilot, applies the concept of runway lights to roadways. LightGuard's Smart Crosswalk(tm) system lights are oriented toward the approaching motorist, away and outward from the crosswalk. The lights are visible to motorists but not pedestrians, he explains.
Airport manager Jon Stout reports that the Smart Crosswalk has slowed down vehicles and encouraged drivers to pay attention to pedestrians crossing the street.
Pedestrians can't see the lights and the lights don't flash all the time, Stout notes. The system is activated through automatic bollards located on both entry points of the crosswalk.
"When pedestrians are at the airport, they're usually carrying bags or dragging their luggage with them; so they don't want to have to push a button to activate the system," Harrison comments. "The system is triggered as a pedestrian enters the crosswalk. When they leave the crosswalk, it 'times out,' and the system is not retriggered. It's only activated when someone enters the crosswalk."
The Smart Crosswalk system also collects data that helps the airport quantify its pedestrian traffic. But the real benefit, notes Harrison, is that no one crossing the street has been struck by a speeding vehicle. 
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LightGuard System™
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LightGuard Systems Inc
707-542-4547 |
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