5Boom barrier requirements#

Boom barriers shall be operated via a Hand-held Remote Controller (HRC) as an extension of the operation of the PTSS. Stand-alone boom barrier operation must comply with the communications requirements outlined in MRTS264 Type-1 Portable Traffic Signals and MRTS265 Type-2 Portable Traffic Signals.

5.1Physical requirements#

The following are the required physical features of the boom barrier:

• a) Boom barrier dimensions:
• i. the length of the boom shall be extendable from a minimum of 2.4 m to a maximum of 4 m, and
• ii. the depth of the boom shall be a minimum of 50 mm.
• b) Indicator beacons shall have:
• i. a solid red indicator beacon located 300 mm ± 10 mm from the end of the boom
• ii. a flashing red indicator beacon located 1.2 m from the boom barrier pivot point
• iii. a luminous intensity as per Table E1 of AS 2144 Traffic Signal Lanterns
• iv. indicator beacons shall be mounted on top of the boom and shall be visible from both directions of travel as per AS 1742.7 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 7 Railway Crossings, and
• v. a duty cycle of 50% at 1Hz ± 5%.
• c) The boom shall be retro-reflective with class 400 sheeting as per the requirements for R6-8 stop signs. Refer to AS1742.7 for further details.
• d) A separate power supply to be provided for boom barrier(s).
• e) An R6-8 stop sign shall be affixed to the boom barrier when operating as a stand-alone boom barrier. This sign shall be removable, reversible and suitably affixed to meet wind loading requirements. R6-8 shall not be used when the boom barrier is used with a set of traffic signals.
• f) When the boom is in the horizontal position, deviation from horizontal shall be no greater than 2 degrees. When the boom is in the vertical position, deviation from vertical shall be no greater than 2 degrees.

5.2Control requirements#

5.2.1General#

The following are the general requirements for boom barrier control:

• a) The boom shall begin its lowering operation 2 ± 0.5 seconds after a red traffic signal aspect is displayed.
• b) The boom barrier shall completely raise or lower 4.5 ± 0.5 seconds after receiving a command to do so.
• c) The indicator beacons shall be active during the traffic signal red intervals to warn motorists and/or pedestrians of:
• i. the presence of the boom, and
• ii. the pending lowering of the boom.
• d) The indicator beacons shall turn off once the boom has risen to the vertical position.
• e) The boom shall be in the vertical position before the traffic signal lantern changes to green and shall remain in the vertical position for the duration of the green interval.
• f) An audible alarm shall alert pedestrians and/or motorists at the start of the yellow interval that lowering of the boom barrier is imminent. The audible alarm shall cease when the boom is in its horizontal position.
• g) The volume, frequency and duty cycle of the audible alarm shall be as follows:
• i. volume: 70 – 75 decibels
• ii. frequency: Max 15KHz, and
• iii. duty cycle: 50% at 1Hz ± 5%.
• h) In conjunction with the boom barrier, a detection device shall be implemented to ensure that the area underneath the boom is clear of obstructions. Lowering operation is to be stopped and the boom barrier raised temporarily if an obstruction is detected. The audible alarm is to continue for the entire lowering operation.
• i) Operation of the audible alarm is to be included in the self-test procedure for both PTSS and stand-alone installations.

When used in conjunction with Type-1 PTSS, the signal head controller shall be the master controller and the boom barrier shall be a slave controller.

5.2.2Stand-alone#

When the system is intentionally set up without signal lanterns, the master controller shall communicate directly with the boom barrier controller instead of via the signal lanterns.

5.3Faults#

5.3.1General#

The following system behaviours under fault conditions shall be implemented. All faults of the HRC or signal lanterns, shall comply with MRTS264 Type-1 Portable Traffic Signals and/or MRTS265 Type-2 Portable Traffic Signals. Boom barrier and indicator beacon faults are not considered critical faults when portable signals are also used.

1. a)If the boom barrier cannot be raised or lowered, operators shall be notified via the HRC as per MRTS264 Type-1 Portable Traffic Signals and/or MRTS265 Type-2 Portable Traffic Signals and manual relocation of the boom shall be possible. Once the boom has been relocated such that it cannot obstruct traffic, operation shall continue without the boom barrier.
2. b)If a signal aspect failure is detected while a boom barrier is connected and operational, the signal aspects are to be turned off and operation is to continue without the portable traffic signals.
3. c)If an indicator beacon failure is detected, the beacons are to be turned off and operation of the system is to continue.
4. d)When the battery is running critically low, the boom barrier shall return to the raised position (vertical) and remain there until the battery is charged or replaced.
5. e)Force applied to the boom barrier in excess of the rated wind-loading shall cause the boom barrier to rotate horizontally around the pivot point, until the boom barrier is clear of traffic.

5.3.2Stand-alone#

When operating without portable signals, any fault that involves the raising or lowering of the boom shall be considered a critical fault. The boom barrier shall cease operation until the fault is rectified and self-test is completed successfully.