The city of Lathrop on Friday officially activated its new pedestrian hybrid beacon near Lathrop High School. The goal is to keep the area safe, a week after a student was hit by a car while crossing the road nearby.
It comes with a signal, controlled crossing and new technology not seen anywhere else in the city.
“Today is the day we try to activate this light, and we’re trying to activate safety, and we’re trying to be conscious, to let our neighborhood, to let the city of Lathrop, know that we are listening, and that is why we are here,” Lathrop Mayor Paul Akinjo said.
The city’s mayor was the first to cross the street on Friday, showcasing the new technology and the need for a signal in this area.
While this project has been in the works for a year, last week, a Lathrop High School student was hit by a car while crossing the street a quarter mile down Spartan Way.
“We did have crossing guards morning and evening for school, drop off and pick up,” said Brad Taylor, an engineer for the City of Lathrop. “However, outside of those hours, there’s no crossing guards, and so students would have to step out and hope traffic saw them. So with the signal now and push the button and actually stop vehicles and cross the safety.”
Last week, the city also placed a speed monitor along Spartan Way. The data showed cars are traveling on average 10 mph over the speed limit.
Now, the city is working on calming traffic in the area, including narrowing lanes and putting barriers on the bike path.
“For the parents that are worried, this is the beginning,” Akinjo said. “One of the projects that safety projects that we are implementing in the city of Lathrop, so we have come a long way. Lathrop was a small city, but now we are grown. We’re going so fast that all these things have become necessary for our residents.”
“We would have done it sooner if we could,” Taylor said. “And so now with this in, we’re hoping that all students can sit cross safely, and we have no more issues.”
“All our residents. We thank you. We respect you. We are listening. Thank you for your patience,” Akinjo said.
A traffic camera controlled by artificial intelligence can detect cars from over 800 feet away, know how fast they are going and identify pedestrians.
But on top of that, it alerts the city engineer instantly of any running of red lights, accidents before they happen, and even near misses.