'In Pavement' Crosswalk Lights In Process of Being Replaced When Pedestrians Hit

Repair crews were working Monday on the installation of new "in-pavement" lighting system in the crosswalk on Santa Rita Road where a Pleasanton couple was hit by a car on Saturday night.

[Related article: Husband, Wife Taken to Hospital With 'Severe Injuries' After Being Hit by Car]

According to Mike Tassano, Pleasanton's City Engineer, the "in-pavement flashing lights" in the crosswalk have been failing, one light at a time, since the summer and the manufacturer who makes the lights discontinued the product, forcing the city to buy a new system to replace the failing system.

"This has been a reoccurring problem and I elected to completely replace the system," Tassano said. "We ordered a new system, which arrived a few weeks ago."

Tassano confirmed the lights were removed on Oct. 8, as the first step of the light replacement and the repair was scheduled to be completed by Oct. 9 but was delayed "due to some construction availability." 

During the construction repairs the pedestrian push button still illuminates the overhead flashing beacons and all of the other warning systems are in place including the advanced signs, advanced legends, yield limit line, keep clear legend, pedestrian signs at the crossing, ladder crossing and flashing beacons, according to Tassano.

The crosswalk is one of several located throughout Pleasanton. Tassano acknowledges that they are "costly to maintain" but there are no plans to remove any of the safety systems, despite the cost and the challenges they have had with components failing. 

Tassano wrote, via email:The lights are quite costly to maintain. They are a great tool to use to give additional notification to motorists of a pedestrian crossing.  We have several in pavement flashing crosswalks in the City. Knowing now the cost to maintain the systems does factor into to the decision for my new installations (residents would want me to weigh the benefits vs. the maintenance costs).

"The lights should be completed and fully operational by Thursday," Tassano said.

Police say a 29-year-old Danville woman hit the couple who were in the crosswalk at the time of the collision. Both suffered "severe injuries" and were taken to Eden Medical Center.

According to the California Highway Patrol, of the 10 collisions reported near the intersection of Santa Rita Road and Francisco Street between the start of 2003 and the end of 2011, two of the accidents involved a car striking a pedestrian and half were the result of unsafe speed on the part of motorists. 

[Related article: CHP Stats Show 10 Collisions at Francisco and Santa Rita Road in 9-Year Period]

Tell us about your experiences in that area when driving or crossing Santa Rita Road using Francisco Street in the comments section below.