LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — The aftermath of a hurricane brings dangers of its own.
Who can forget trying to drive around town while power is out and traffic signals aren’t working?
When the stop-lights are down drivers should treat each intersection as a 4-way stop. Not everyone follows that rule.
"Especially the major intersections, most of them 5 6 lanes with the turning lane, it's really hard for people to just come through those intersections," said Kericke Cox.
Leon County has a solution. They're working with state leaders to house and maintain 200 generators that can be used to get traffic signals up and running immediately after a storm.
"Those lights with the generators running are very helpful, especially for safety concerns," said Cox.
The county recommended getting the generators in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.
"After a hurricane, widespread traffic light power outages are dangerous. When the traffic light is dark they're supposed to be treated like 4 way stops. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they aren't. This a good opportunity to coordinate with the state of Florida and help our citizens faster and better," said Mathieu Cavell.
County leaders told WTXL the 200 generators will be enough to power up almost all intersections in Leon county. The busiest areas around town will be the first ones to get the green light.
The only cost to Leon County, the fuel and manpower to deploy the generators.
All this would happen through an agreement with the state of Florida to house the generators in the county.
"Getting the lights running as soon as possible after a storm would make a big difference because otherwise it really isn't safe to be driving around," said
Austin Graham.
Leon County Commissioners will vote on entering into this agreement with the state of Florida at the meeting on Tuesday.
They expect the generators to be here for this hurricane season which starts on June 1.
However, If there is a need for them in a different part of the state they'll be sent there.
