I suppose this is one of those “trickle-up” technologies, where it first is found in places that need it, like Africa and India, and then everywhere else in the world once the idea is proven practicable. This tech has made its way to Istanbul so far.
I know that whenever there’s a big storm in Seattle, the city grinds to a halt, not because people don’t know how to drive in the rain, but because they can’t seem to deal with outed traffic lights. Simply treating every intersection as a stop sign is wearying; why don’t we have solar-powered backups for nighttime and emergency use? Retrofitting would be easy and cheap, and it’s guaranteed to make disasters and blackouts a little bit easier on everybody when the time comes.
[via Treehugger]
So true. The government often doesn’t do what the common sense sees. Some places here in Germany have those solar panels (often for traffic cams or parking meters).
Well we have coordinated stop lights in the Chicago area. Thus, there is computer controlled communication to manage many of the lights. You don’t just drop a solar panel on a light poll and get solar backup. You need electronics, batteries, and a system design still with a no-power fallback. Batteries require maintenance; maintenance costs money. Solar panels require maintenance; I’ve seen panels with 3 inches of snow on them in the area! Common sense is one thing; engineering sense is another. These senses only meet in an educated mind.