By Sheldon Spackman

Bird causes traffic signal issues downtown, south hill Thursday

Jul 19, 2018 | 2:04 PM

A bird hitting a power line was the cause of a power outage and flashing traffic signals throughout downtown and parts of Red Deer’s South Hill Thursday.

That according to the City of Red Deer’s Electric, Light and Power Manager Jim Jorgensen who says it happened shortly after 8:30 a.m. when a breaker opened and closed because of the bird’s interference with the line.

“The outage was momentary, I believe their might have been one or two customers that might have had something a little bit longer duration but it was addressed,” he explains. “The outfall of it was that it affected some of the traffic signals, it would have sent them into a flashing mode. So our crews had to respond to go and reset I think it was about 10 intersections, sort of in that area along Taylor, along Gaetz, those types of areas.”

He says all affected traffic signals were back to normal again sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., adding it’s the type of incident that’s not uncommon for crews to deal with.

“It happens to us every year where we wind up with wildlife interference into the system at times in some locations,” says Jorgensen. “As we respond to incidents like this, we make sure that we try to put in more protective cover-up and measures to mitigate the impact of this. But the system is quite large, it’s going to take some time.”

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Jorgensen reminds Red Deerians that if they do experience a power outage, the best course of action is to call the City’s Electric, Light and Power department.

“We have visibility into the system but we always gain the best information when people phone us and tell us what they’ve seen or heard or what they’re experiencing,” he says. “They can help out an awful lot if they phone our office (403-342-8274).”

As for drivers who come across flashing traffic signals, Jorgensen reminds motorists that flashing yellow means ‘proceed with caution’ while flashing red or no lights at all should be treated like a four-way stop.

by Sheldon Spackman

Bird causes traffic signal issues downtown, south hill Thursday

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