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Armory Road rail-trail crossing lights, bollards malfunction; commission urges stronger vendor support and enforcement
Summary
Commissioners and staff described intermittent failures of remote-sensing bollards and transmitters at the Armory Road crossing and discussed having the vendor send on-site technical support or reverting to push-button operation and seeking police enforcement to improve driver compliance.
Commission members reviewed persistent issues with the rail-trail crossing equipment on Armory Road. The crossing uses remote-sensing bollards and transmitter/receiver poles supplied by the vendor (referred to in the meeting as Tapco). The devices have intermittently failed to trigger the flashing lights and bollard operation.
Commission member 2 and staff described the troubleshooting steps taken on-site with the vendor over the phone; a replacement part sent by the vendor worked briefly and then stopped. "We worked with a tech, and he said, you're right. The bollards aren't working," Commission member 2 said. Staff reported that Tapco has supplied replacement parts at no cost but that the parts have not restored reliable operation.
Commission members discussed options: ask the vendor to send an on-site technician with parts to complete diagnosis and repair, or revert to a push-button configuration so trail users must stop and press a visible control to activate the crossing. Commission member 4 recommended asking the vendor to provide on-site technical support with parts; other members said if remote sensing cannot be made reliable, the commission should install push-button activation and a clear sign.
Commission members also proposed enforcement measures to improve motorist compliance: ask the police chief to have an officer staged at the crossing during a public demonstration, so motorists who fail to stop while the crossing is active could be ticketed to reinforce compliance. "Ask the police chief to do that," one member said; commissioners noted that visible enforcement could change driver behavior quickly.
No guarantee of warranty coverage for on-site service was stated at the meeting, but commissioners asked staff to press the vendor for a technician visit and to pursue the push-button fallback if remote sensing cannot be fixed. Commissioners also agreed to return bad parts to Tapco as requested by the vendor.
