Santa Rosa is installing backup batteries at 170 intersections so that streetlights keep working during power outages.
Funds for the project are from a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to reporting by Bay City News.
And the effort couldn’t come any sooner, as planned and unplanned power outages have wracked the Bay Area.
PG&E warned that as many as 121,000 customers could face rolling power outages during last month’s record heat waves.
Traffic signals become four-way stops during a power outage, which impacts public safety, city officials said, hindering emergency response vehicles and evacuation efforts during wildfires.
The backup batteries will keep traffic signals, crossing signs and vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian detection devices running for over four hours without power.
The batteries also eliminate the need to reprogram traffic signal controllers after an outage by maintaining each controller's memory of the sequences of different turn movements at an intersection.
Installation of the batteries began in April and is anticipated to finish by the end of July.
