Downtown banners, municipal lightposts and wind load

[Veloise]

My former DDA boss (budget axe forced me to the private sector) mentioned the new DDA banners to me. This is something I've been pushing on Urban Planet for several years; the light standards came with brackets, and a little bit of funding would go a long way towards dressing up DT.

See: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/in...dpost&p=950222
Earlier posts to the thread contain many examples of my photoshopping.

He mentioned the Streets dept concerns about windloading, and I told him that I have professional structural engineers in my rolodex. (Before my telecom company collocates on anyone else's tower, we run a structural. And vice versa.)

It occurred to me that we might be able to utilize (there, I'm talking like a planner again!) another DDA's facts & figures regarding light pole banners. (The GRAM's creative bungie cords are visible in the close-up shot.)

Anyone have details about the windload of DDA banners? (Yes, I have watched the video on Kalamazoo Banner's website.)

TIA

[Cardinal]

The company that supplied the poles and banner arms should be able to provide this information. If the banner arms were an option provided by the manufacturer, there should be no issue with wind load.

[southsideamy]

Ex-Michigander and former DDA director here..so I thought I'd chime in.

My understanding is that if you have fiberglass light poles, they cannot not withstand the wind loads from banners. I've worked in two communities that took up Detroit Edison on their light pole program and Detroit Ed refused to allow banners on their poles. One community I worked in decided to buy their own downtown poles, ensured they were constructed of metal, and were able to have banners.

The pictures look like you have your own light poles and that they aren't fiberglass....so you must be just fine. I think any architect could help you calculate wind load (they probably can do it more readily than an engineer) but if they aren't fiberglass poles, I can't see that you'd have a problem.

[Veloise]

More details:
The Streets department is in charge of our charming Victorian-look poles (shown in the pics on Urban Planet). DDA buddy told me that the top bracket was integral, but the lower ones (not visible on the GRAM banner poles) were hose-clamped on. Streets said that banners would unduly strain the poles.

(Streets has been known to come up with many creative reasons why logical things shouldn't happen. We have several miles of bike lanes which lack signage, or other identification, due to percieved liability.)

Kalamazoo Banner's sales rep sent me a windload calculator (and thanked me for using their products in my photosims). The concern is not "what is the amount of windload caused by these banners," but "what amount of windload can these lightpoles withstand?"

(My ultimate goal being to shift back to a municipal position, I am happy to volunteer with a couple phone calls and some photosims.)