Mt. Prospect hopes new signal will protect walkers, cyclists on Busse Road

The signal, known in the industry as a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon, has a light that flashes at irregular intervals when a person is walking or biking across Busse Road. Village officials say the irregular flashing has been shown to catch a driver's attention more effectively than standard flashing lights.

"It appears to be a great system for uncontrolled crossing areas," said Matt Lawrie, the village's traffic engineer. "Uncontrolled" crossings are those which don't have either a stop sign or a traffic light to halt traffic.

The light is activated when a pedestrian or cyclist pushes a button mounted on the pole. The flashing continues for about 35 seconds, long enough for people to get from one side of Busse to the other, Lawrie said.

"We want to stress that activating the beacon doesn't mean a pedestrian can just walk across - people still have to be alert and make sure that all cars have actually stopped," Lawrie said.

Roughly 12,500 cars travel that stretch of Busse Road every day, officials said. Clearwater Park is at the Busse and Lonnquist intersection, and Holmes Junior High School is a short walk away.

"There's quite a bit of pedestrian activity near there," Lawrie said.

Lawrie estimated the total cost of the project to be less than $50,000. The village has split the cost of the project with Cook County, which has jurisdiction over Busse Road. Lonnquist is a village street. The two agencies will share operations and maintenance costs going forward.

As part of the installation, the village made some improvements to the crossing itself. Because the signal uses solar technology, not much underground work was required, Lawrie said.

The signal is the first of its kind to go up in Mount Prospect, though it is becoming more common in the Chicago area, Lawrie said. If it works well on Busse Road, the village will consider installing the signals at other crossings.