Valley Transportation Authority to install solar panels at bus station in Almaden Valley
Increased visibility will make it safer for seniors
By Emilie Crofton, Bay Area News Group, Jan 4, 2008
Source: MercuryNews.com
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7883859?nclick_check=1
The Valley Transportation Authority’s bright idea to light up bus shelters with solar panels will make waiting for a bus safer for Almaden Valley seniors. Several residents of Le Mirador senior housing, including Edith Keep and Essie Barador, were concerned with safety issues caused by changes to the bus routes after the approval of the VTA January 2008 Service Plan. Those changes, as of Jan. 14, will force nearby residents and seniors at Le Mirador Senior Housing to switch from Bus 65 to Bus 64.
Getting on a different bus means individuals living in the senior-housing community on Coleman Road must cross busy Almaden Expressway’s six-lane thoroughfare and wait in the dark at an unlit bus stop in front of an empty field.
Keep, 87, contacted the VTA about the lack of lighting at the bus stop a couple of years ago. She was told that because the shelter did not have a power source, it was too expensive to install a light and that it was the city’s responsibility to add a street light. However, Bernice Alaniz, deputy director of marketing and public affairs for VTA, said this issue will be resolved by the VTA this year.
In a joint effort with Clear Channel, which owns a majority of the shelters in Santa Clara Valley, 30 bus shelters throughout Santa Clara Valley that did not have access to electricity have been provided with solar panels.
The majority of the 30 solar panels have been placed at bus shelters in Palo Alto. Several, however, have been tested in downtown San Jose with more scheduled for installation in San Jose shelters, including one in Almaden Valley, Alaniz said.
“The shelters that have no power source are slated to receive solar panels sometime in 2008,” Alaniz said. “That includes the shelter for Bus 64 near Coleman Road.” The solar panels will provide energy to light the tops and sides of the shelters.
Along with creating more comfortable and safe shelters, the solar panels make it easier for bus operators to identify if there is a passenger inside the shelter. Keep said she has to bring a flashlight with her to flag down the buses so they see her when she rides the bus in the early morning and evenings.
Another reason for the solar panels is to save energy. “The VTA is making efforts. We’re a green entity,” Alaniz said. “Public transportation is one of the best ways to reduce greenhouse gases, and we’re looking at even more ways of doing this.”