Solar-Powered Traffic Lights Wanted By Officials

In response to the catastrophic hit from Sandy in late October, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) and a group of local mayors sent a letter Wednesday to the Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting funds for solar-powered traffic signals.

"This is an investment in public safety," Handlin said.

The solar-powered signals would continue to operate during outages, keeping the traffic moving and allowing emergency officials to help those in need instead of directing traffic for several days.

“When emergencies strike, our communities cannot afford to place police officers at every intersection when they are needed elsewhere,” Handlin said.

She added, “We need to replace several traffic lights after Hurricane Sandy, and we might as well rebuild our infrastructure better than before, with bipartisan solutions like this."

New Jersey turned on its first solar-powered traffic light last May in Mantua Township, Gloucester County.