Safe Sightings of Signs & Signals

For Automated Traffic Signal Sight Distance Checks

The City of Walnut Creek is one of the winners of the national Build a Better Mousetrap (BABM) competition! The City receives the award for developing the software "Safe Sightings of Signs & Signals" (SSOSS) for Automated Traffic Signal Sight Distance Checks.

When traffic signals are obstructed or not clearly visible, it can lead to limited reaction times, confusion, collisions, and other safety hazards. By automating the assessment of traffic signal visibility, the software saves time, increases accuracy, and significantly reduces the risk of error and danger to personnel. SSOSS is an open-source software solution that can be used by agencies to replicate this process and achieve similar results in terms of time and cost savings.

This software-based solution has resulted in significant time savings and increased productivity. Previously, conducting sight distance checks could take 15 to 45 minutes per intersection. With SSOSS, all 100 of the city's intersections—about 350 approaches—can be checked for sight distance in a single day without anyone getting out of their car. Moreover, this solution has promoted a proactive approach to ensuring traffic signals are visible to drivers, rather than a reactive approach that may leave traffic signals obstructed for longer than necessary.

The BABM national recognition program highlights locally relevant, innovative solutions and provides a platform to share innovations to everyday challenges that local and tribal transportation professionals encounter on local roads. These local road solutions range from the development of new project delivery or design processes to the invention of new tools, equipment, or modifications that increase efficiency, enhance safety, reduce cost, and/or improve the quality of transportation on local roads.

Have an innovation you'd like to share with your sister agencies in California and possibly across the nation? Contact us any time to submit an application for next year's competition, we're always looking to spolight great ideas from our local agency partners.