Common Problems Arising in the Installation of Accessible Pedestrian Signals

Issue 7: Repair/replacement (put it back right!)

An APS that was knocked down in a crash was reinstalled by workers who did not know how the device was supposed to function. After reinstallation, the APS was turned 90 degrees from its prior placement, and the tactile arrow was no longer pointing at the street the pushbutton controlled. The WALK message was provided at the wrong time for the street toward which the arrow pointed.

In another situation, shown in Figure 11, the APS was temporarily reinstalled, still functioning, but oriented incorrectly. It was several weeks before a crew reinstalled it properly. Meanwhile it provided inaccurate information. When the APS is not correctly installed, there is a risk that a person who is blind will cross a street with the wrong WALK indication or in the wrong direction.

Remedy: All maintenance personnel need to know enough about APS installations to recognize an APS, and to either call someone to check details of reinstallation, or to correctly re-install the APS themselves. Training is needed to avoid dangerous errors in reinstallation or repair.