ASUP to put funding toward lights on Willamette crosswalk near main entrance
By Hannah Gray
After months of uncertainty, UP is finally getting a solar-powered crosswalk. The crosswalk is ASUP's fall 2008 capital improvement project and will go on the Willamette Boulevard intersection by the University's main entrance. The crosswalk will have solar-powered lighting in hopes of creating a safer walkway.
The crosswalk was approved last November and is almost ready, with a few more details needing to be hatched.
"I was somewhat frustrated that it was up in the air so long," said Paige Van Bruggen, a senior off-campus senator. "If we weren't going to be funded, we wanted to look at the next project."
The University is contributing $15,000 to the $21,000 capital improvement fund from ASUP, totaling $36,000 for the whole project.
The original issue ASUP faced with the crosswalk was the initial estimate did not include labor and installation costs which added about 25 percent to the cost, according to Jim Kuffner, assistant vice president for Human Resources and Administration.
"We worked with the vendor to reduce the scope of the signal and arrange for possible installation by on-campus workers in order to stay with the proposed budget and available funds," Kuffner said via e-mail.
Kuffner expects to receive a proposal for the cost estimates this week from the new vendor, Coral Sales Company of Tualatin, Ore. With the new vendor, the crosswalk requires an in-ground installation of the signal lights which are hard-wired electrically from the street lamp, according to Kuffner.
"If the proposal comes back the way I hope it will, then we will work with the city of Portland to have the design approved and seek their permission to complete the installation," Kuffner said.
Mojtaba Takallou, a professor for the School of Engineering, was a huge help in finding a vendor, according to ASUP President Kyle Bunch. Takallou is involved in the planning process.
"Mojtaba found someone who is a better fit for us," Bunch said.
Another area of concern is the labor. The University is considering doing the labor through Physical Plant, granted that Physical Plant has the time and the available labor, according to Denis Ransmeier, the vice president of Financial Affairs. This would help to cut down on the overall costs of the crosswalk.
The crosswalk is expected to be completed this summer before the fall 2009 semester. The actual installation should take about two days, depending how quickly the University can get the city's approval, Kuffner said.
The current crosswalk can be quite unsafe, especially during busy hours.
"People have expressed to me that they feel the crosswalk is unsafe, not only as a driver but as a pedestrian," Van Bruggen said. "I'm really glad the school realized it is a safety issue."
Van Bruggen is glad that ASUP chose and funded this project.
The University Park Neighbor Association has expressed its own concerns over safety issues at this crosswalk in the past, Kuffner said, who is the University's liaison to the association.
The crosswalk will have lights built into the ground, six on each side, according to Bunch. There will also be a flashing light above.
"I am a big supporter of this," Ransmeier said. "It's a very dangerous intersection."
When ASUP initially proposed the crosswalk as a capital improvement project possibility, the idea was to have solar power as the primary source. Due to the amount of sun Portland receives though, the solar power will be the secondary source of power, as opposed to an ideal primary source, according to Ransmeier. The primary source will be battery.
"The City of Portland Traffic Safety Department also had concerns over a fully solar powered signal as being capable of operational use year-round," Kuffner said.
The vendor that the University is looking at is well connected with UP and a supporter of the School of Engineering, according to Kuffner. With this connection, UP hopes to put another crosswalk, like the Willamette one, on North Portsmouth Avenue near North McCosh Street.
"We're close," Ransmeier said about the crosswalk.
