By Jennifer McLain
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
INDUSTRY, Calif. — The city is paying nearly $1 million to reduce emergency vehicles’ response times and increase traffic safety.
In January, devices were installed at 48 intersections throughout Industry and parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County that give emergency vehicles the ability to change traffic lights from red to green.
A survey two years ago indicated that emergency response times in Industry were slowed because of congested traffic, said Mayor Dave Perez.
“Installing these priority signal devices were the quickest method to resolving the response-time issue,” he said.
The Industry City Council has already approved nearly $600,000 for the purchase and installation of the 3-M Opticom Priority Control Systems, Perez said, and is scheduled to approve another $300,000 this month for additional signals at about 25 intersections.
The devices cost nearly $7,000 each, said Capt. Gary Black of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 118 in Industry.
“The Opticom system enhances time-critical travel by allowing emergency vehicles to request and receive green lights as they go to the scene,” Black said. “The system can be shared by transit vehicles to improve route efficiency and on-time arrival.”
On average, the lights can reduce response times by 20 percent, said Al Valdez, president of J and J Inc., a dealer of the devices.
Response times without traffic are three and half to five minutes, but with traffic it could be up to 10 minutes, fire officials said. Times since the implementation of the devices are not yet available, they said.
Valdez said while the devices have improved through the 25 years since they’ve been around, funding has traditionally been the biggest hurdle up until recently.
“Funding is more available through the various transportation bills that are out there,” Valdez said.
Several San Gabriel Valley cities, including West Covina, Pasadena, San Marino and Alhambra, have carried the system for years. Other cities such as Diamond Bar and Pomona, however, do not.
Alhambra first started installing the devices in the city nearly five years ago, said Vince Kemp, Alhambra fire chief. Now, nearly half of the city’s major intersections have them.
“It is ongoing project,” Kemp said. As more funding becomes available, more intersections receive the devices, he added.
Bart Brewer, assistant chief at West Covina Fire, said the number of intersections that have the devices has tripled since they were first installed.
In 2002, the devices were installed at 10 intersections, Brewer said. Two years later, another 20 intersections were added, he said.
Two of the busiest intersections in West Covina that have the devices are at Vincent and Lake, and Azusa Avenue and Amar Road.
“It speeds up our response times and clears up intersections and prevents traffic accidents,” Brewer said.
County Fire Assistant Chief John Nieto said this system is a top priority for fire agencies.
“This was the No. 1 thing we needed to get around, and they graciously said OK to fund most of it,” he said.