A Good Idea

If anyone remembers the traffic nightmares due to the August 2003 blackout in NYC, this is one idea whose time has come.

Battery backup for traffic lights along key routes. This would enable the lights to maintain working despite power outages that would otherwise snarl traffic, increase the likelyhood of accidents, and make it more difficult for emergency personnel to get to crises.

Thanks to $3.4 million in homeland security grants to the city Department of Transportation, the backup systems are being installed on 650 traffic lights in all five boroughs.

"After the blackout a few years ago, we began to look at how to get people out of Manhattan and away from Manhattan in a fast, organized way," said DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall. "It became very clear to us that these battery backups would allow us to have a more rational exodus."

The program started last year, with $2 million in homeland security money to install the backups at 400 intersections. Last July, DOT received an additional $1.4 million.

Each battery pack — located on traffic-light poles in a green metal box — can keep a traffic light on for four hours after a blackout or grid failure.

DOT is looking to bring batteries to major roads.

"It's great to get the cars out of Manhattan, but you have to keep the cars moving once they're out," Weinshall said, pointing to Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Queens and Northern boulevards in Queens as roads that will get more backup systems.