QUESTION
Is the Department of Citywide Administrative Services coordinating with the Department of Transportation on solar backup for traffic signals?
0:43:19
·
3 min
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has not yet discussed solar backups with the Department of Transportation (DOT) but plans to bring it up in a future meeting.
- DCAS works with DOT on energy efficiency projects.
- A meeting with DOT is scheduled, during which solar backup solutions could be discussed.
- Solar backups for traffic signals and street furniture have not been a topic of prior discussion between DCAS and DOT.
- Council Member Holden emphasizes the importance of solar backups for traffic safety during electric grid failures.
Robert F. Holden
0:43:19
Are you working with DOT?
0:43:21
Did they contact you about solar items, street furniture, traffic signals, even safety devices that would be solar powered.
0:43:35
And because, again, when the grid goes down, electrical grid, I'm out.
0:43:39
And it's and safety is is paramount.
0:43:42
For a whole night, people are were complaining that they couldn't even cross the street because the traffic kept going with no traffic lights.
0:43:49
I would think that the greatest city in the world, the one that leads in technology, would have solar backups for many of our And I know this is off topic slightly, but I I, you know, I don't know if you're prepared to answer that, but what do you what would
Sanna Barakat
0:44:04
you say?
0:44:04
Definitely a guilty question.
0:44:05
But I wanna say that we work with the OTA on lot of the energy efficiency projects.
0:44:10
And after we have a meeting coming up with them, and we can bring it up.
0:44:14
And but
Robert F. Holden
0:44:14
they haven't brought it up to you.
Sanna Barakat
0:44:16
Not yet.
0:44:17
Not yet.
0:44:17
But like I said, DOT is the next agency we're meeting with.
Robert F. Holden
0:44:21
This is what I mean.
0:44:21
This is what I mean.
Sanna Barakat
0:44:22
I got it.
Robert F. Holden
0:44:23
You know, Lucy.
0:44:26
I I get you know, it's like I I'm running out of time to to to try to get some so if you can bring it up, I would appreciate it.
0:44:34
And then if you can get back to the committee because This is a this should be a priority.
0:44:41
If you're saying that the electric grid is gonna be inadequate by next year, we need to prepare.
0:44:48
And these are small items.
0:44:49
They're not I don't think they're again, I don't know the cost, but I wouldn't think a a small solar panel.
0:44:55
You know, in other cities, like, the panels of mean, they don't look very large to power a a a light ring around the stop sign to make the corner of SAFER.
0:45:06
And there's so many in in some cities that, you know, and and and some are in the south, some are in the north, so it's not really a question.
0:45:14
I know in in certain areas like Manhattan, you might have a problem because this sunlight is a commodity.
0:45:22
But if you could bring that up, if you can come up with some suggestions on cost and and even to the point I'm willing to even fund some some projects that would make my my district safer to cross the street and certainly in an emergency.
Sanna Barakat
0:45:39
Yeah.
0:45:39
Thank you for that.
0:45:40
And I just wanna emphasize again that DOT may be working on it separately and not coming to us that could happen.
0:45:46
They're they could be doing something in dependency then taking funds from our agency.
0:45:51
So Yeah.
Robert F. Holden
0:45:52
I did I did speak to OEM about it.
0:45:54
So they said they would push DOT and try to work with them.
0:45:57
So You can also check with OEMs because I complained to them first about this that we don't have no solar powered.
0:46:06
When I asked a question, they couldn't answer it, but they have no solar powered safety devices, which I think should be certainly, there should be thousands around the city now already installed.
0:46:18
Thank you.
0:46:18
Thank you so much, Jim.