TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, Acting Community Development Director
Erik Zandvliet, T.E., City Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Update on the City’s Traffic Signal Battery Backup Systems (Acting Community Development Director Mirzakhanian).
RECEIVE AND FILE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the update on the City’s Traffic Signal Battery Backup Systems.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Funds are budgeted in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023 for traffic signal maintenance. Funds for future maintenance costs will be included in the FY 2023-2024 budget.
BACKGROUND:
During the recent storms, the City has experienced several power outages that affected various parts of the City. Some of the traffic signals with battery back-up equipment failed to remain in operation during the outage, which led staff to discover that several locations have faulty equipment. This staff report provides an update on the actions being taken to provide reliable battery back-up (BBU) power to all of the City’s traffic signals.
DISCUSSION:
Thirty-four of the City’s 38 traffic signals are equipped with BBU systems to provide supplemental power during short power outage events. The signals are programmed to maintain full operation for one to four hours, and then continue in flashing red mode until the batteries are fully depleted. When a traffic signal stops functioning, State law requires motorists to treat the intersection as a stopped intersection in accordance with to the California Vehicle Code “rules of the road.”
As part of the City’s traffic signal maintenance agreement with Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, staff requested that the County provide us a report of any currently-inoperable BBU systems within the City. The County completed its inspection and indicated that of the 38 City-owned signals, four locations do not have BBU systems, 14 are fully-functional, and 20 locations need BBU equipment or batteries replaced. Usually, the system fails because the batteries age and do not hold a charge, similar to car batteries. The cost to replace the battery pack is approximately $2,000 per location, and the cost to install a new BBU system is approximately $12,000 per location.
City staff has taken the following actions to ensure that all City owned traffic signals are equipped with fully operational BBU systems within one year:
• Dead batteries will be replaced at all existing locations by Los Angeles County (LA County) using current fiscal year funding available in the traffic signal maintenance budget.
• Four traffic signals without BBU systems will be outfitted with new BBU systems using currently budgeted funds reserved for the replacement of old or damaged traffic signal equipment.
• LA County will conduct an annual inspection of the BBU systems and provide a report of locations with batteries that need replacement to the City.
• Staff will direct LA County to replace BBU batteries when they reach an age of five years, based on the annual inspection, pursuant to the extraordinary maintenance terms of the Agreement.
These actions will improve overall traffic safety by guaranteeing that the traffic signals will continue to operate during short-term power outages.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Pursuant to the City’s Sunshine provisions, this agenda item was publically posted and distributed well in advance of the Brown Act’s 72 hour requirement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Traffic Signal Battery Back-Up List