Gremlins still haunting automatic pedestrian lights
PROBLEMS with automated traffic lights at intersections in Melbourne have persisted over the high holy days, preventing observant Jews from crossing the street safely.
PETER KOHN
HOW many public officials does it take to make a pedestrian crossing automatic? Observant Jews might be asking themselves this question as the saga of automating traffic signals on yom tov continues.
Problems with automated traffic lights at intersections in Caulfield, Elsternwick, St Kilda East and surrounds persisted over the high holy days, preventing observant Jews from crossing the street safely.
And while automatic switching for Shabbat is more straightforward than programming the cycle to the varying yom tov calendar, most would argue it’s not rocket science.
Walking to synagogue, Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) president Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant discovered that some of the corners designated as automatic pedestrian lights under plans finalised late in 2008 were not functioning on Yom Kippur.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) president John Searle told The AJN he had spoken to Rabbi Kluwgant about the latest problems with pedestrian crossings.
He confirmed that the pedestrian signals at the corner of Bambra and Glenhuntly roads were not automated on Yom Kippur, and that reports had come in about other corners with problems.
“We certainly advised VicRoads of all the appropriate dates and we’re trying to ascertain where it fell through the cracks,” Searle told The AJN. “We’re aware of the problem and we’re investigating it.”
Some of the crossings fall under the authority of VicRoads and others under Glen Eira Council.
Searle said all intersections slated for conversion to automatic as a result of talks between the RCV, the Council of Synagogues of Victoria, the JCCV, police and Glen Eira Council had been readied for automatic operation, and that the Orrong Road-Inkerman Street corner was recently added to the grid.
The plan to switch key corners to automatic on Shabbat and yom tov periods was established after two Jewish pedestrians had separate encounters with police during a blitz against jaywalkers last year.
A Glen Eira City Council spokesperson told The AJN last week that the council would follow up to see if any of the affected corners came under its authority.
Malfunctions could be due to electronic faults or programming errors, he said.