AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Traffic Control => Topic started by: silverback1065 on May 01, 2015, 10:49:47 AM

Title: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: silverback1065 on May 01, 2015, 10:49:47 AM
have any of these popped up around the country? or is this an Indiana thing? https://www.google.com/maps/@39.966161,-85.91857,3a,75y,349.51h,67.43t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOo31FhETCYBPbz4G7OtInQ!2e0

they can be slightly confusing since they are all red lights, i wonder why they don't just use a typical 3 head signal.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: roadman on May 01, 2015, 11:11:25 AM
This installation is known as a pedestrian hybrid beacon, commonly called a HAWK signal - See Section 4F of the MUTCD for details.  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/part4.pdf
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: tradephoric on May 01, 2015, 11:22:13 AM
Drivers yield to the passing train.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F8%2F89%2FHAWK_Optimized.gif%2F220px-HAWK_Optimized.gif&hash=bdc3ddcc234b68d00f2d936dda2269dec0f0ac8e)
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: spooky on May 01, 2015, 11:43:06 AM
Quote from: roadman on May 01, 2015, 11:11:25 AM
This installation is known as a pedestrian hybrid beacon, commonly called a HAWK signal - See Section 4F of the MUTCD for details.  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/part4.pdf

HAWK, AKA High Intenstity Activated Crosswalk beacon.
They really reached on that acronym.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: jeffandnicole on May 01, 2015, 12:19:43 PM
Quote from: silverback1065 on May 01, 2015, 10:49:47 AM

they can be slightly confusing since they are all red lights...

The bottom light should be yellow, not red.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: Pink Jazz on May 01, 2015, 12:23:43 PM
HAWK beacons are used by several cities here in the Phoenix area, including Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Scottsdale.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: freebrickproductions on May 01, 2015, 01:07:28 PM
Huntsville, AL has the only HAWK install anywhere in the state as far as I'm aware. We used to have three, but Huntsville removed the two that were in front of fire stations.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: mrsman on May 01, 2015, 02:59:09 PM
Quote from: silverback1065 on May 01, 2015, 10:49:47 AM
have any of these popped up around the country? or is this an Indiana thing? https://www.google.com/maps/@39.966161,-85.91857,3a,75y,349.51h,67.43t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOo31FhETCYBPbz4G7OtInQ!2e0

they can be slightly confusing since they are all red lights, i wonder why they don't just use a typical 3 head signal.

One benefit of the HAWK signal is that it does not have to be illuminated all the time, saving significantly on electricity costs. (The pedestrian signal is illumiated continuously)  Although the down side is that it requires drivers to learn about another unique device.  Also, the flashing yellow is warning you of caution that the light will eventually be activated, as opposed to flashing yellow that we sometimes see at flashing yellow/flashing red intersection to denote right of way (and general caution that there is an intersection).

One of the best ways of doing a mid-intersection pedestrian cross-walk is done in Los Angeles (Downtown and along Fairfax Avenue and several other places too).  There, there is a standard three head signal, but instead of red, there is a flashing red.  You stop on flashing red, but then you are permitted to continue once the crosswalk is cleared of pedestrians.  This way, if peds are faster than the timing, you're not stuck waiting for the green.  But the downside is that it has to be illuminated all the time.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: Thing 342 on May 01, 2015, 03:45:19 PM
A HAWK beacon recently went up on the campus of Thomas Nelson CC. It's pretty much universally ignored, as no one seems to know what to do at it, except for to stop for people in the crosswalk.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: jakeroot on May 01, 2015, 05:36:45 PM
I think it's a bit confusing right now, but, more than likely, it'll be the standard crosswalk for arterial roadways in 10 to 20 years. Side streets should maintain the yield principle.

Not sure of the stats on these things, but if there are any, they should probably be ignored, since lack of understanding likely envenoms the stats.

Washington has two that I know of. One in Mount Vernon on a road I've never driven on, and on Highway 104 in Edmonds, about 10 miles north of Seattle.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: roadfro on May 02, 2015, 12:40:56 AM
I like the concept of these, just don't like the use of alternating red that is typically associated with a train crossing.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: M3019C LPS20 on May 02, 2015, 08:24:11 AM
Yes, it is a H.A.W.K. signal.

It has become widespread in the country in recent years.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: PurdueBill on May 02, 2015, 12:31:20 PM
Quote from: roadfro on May 02, 2015, 12:40:56 AM
I like the concept of these, just don't like the use of alternating red that is typically associated with a train crossing.

Yep--first they disallowed alternating flashing reds 10 or 20 feet apart over separate lanes because they might appear to be railroad signals. Then they introduce HAWK and use....alternating flashing reds with a totally different meaning than railroad signals.  WTF???
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: Pink Jazz on May 03, 2015, 09:57:42 PM
Quote from: PurdueBill on May 02, 2015, 12:31:20 PM
Quote from: roadfro on May 02, 2015, 12:40:56 AM
I like the concept of these, just don't like the use of alternating red that is typically associated with a train crossing.

Yep--first they disallowed alternating flashing reds 10 or 20 feet apart over separate lanes because they might appear to be railroad signals. Then they introduce HAWK and use....alternating flashing reds with a totally different meaning than railroad signals.  WTF???

This brings up an interesting point.  The city of Fort Collins, Colorado actually received complaints from Union Pacific Railroad about the alternating flashing red lights on two HAWK beacons located near railroad tracks.  The City of Fort Collins experimented with having the two red lights flash simultaneously instead of alternating; I wonder what is the status of that experiment.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: KEK Inc. on May 04, 2015, 05:00:22 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on May 01, 2015, 05:36:45 PM
I think it's a bit confusing right now, but, more than likely, it'll be the standard crosswalk for arterial roadways in 10 to 20 years. Side streets should maintain the yield principle.

Not sure of the stats on these things, but if there are any, they should probably be ignored, since lack of understanding likely envenoms the stats.

Washington has two that I know of. One in Mount Vernon on a road I've never driven on, and on Highway 104 in Edmonds, about 10 miles north of Seattle.

There's a new one in Redmond on 148th Ave NE between Redmond Way and Willows Rd. 

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKBekbG4.jpg&hash=48108df389470d343d27c2fe41503fbd931c5b6c)

Here's the one in Edmonds. 

(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8634/15823979373_e7b3d8fe30_c.jpg)
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: briantroutman on May 06, 2015, 01:36:04 AM
Quote from: mrsman on May 01, 2015, 02:59:09 PM
One of the best ways of doing a mid-intersection pedestrian cross-walk is done in Los Angeles (Downtown and along Fairfax Avenue and several other places too).  There, there is a standard three head signal, but instead of red, there is a flashing red.  You stop on flashing red, but then you are permitted to continue once the crosswalk is cleared of pedestrians.  This way, if peds are faster than the timing, you're not stuck waiting for the green.  But the downside is that it has to be illuminated all the time.

Perhaps what you describe is deployed elsewhere in the city, but when I lived in LA temporarily last summer and fall, I encountered one almost daily on Glencoe Ave. near Mindanao Way (https://goo.gl/maps/64LBH) where the red phase was solid, not flashing. This was particularly frustrating as a motorist because pedestrians (frequently fit joggers in Marina del Rey) would often punch the cross button and immediately start crossing, so they'd have already completed crossing by the end of the yellow phase, and then I'd be stuck sitting for an agonizingly slow red phase with nobody in the crosswalk.
Title: Re: Smart pedestrian/school crossings
Post by: Ace10 on June 02, 2015, 03:44:16 PM
Quote from: KEK Inc. on May 04, 2015, 05:00:22 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on May 01, 2015, 05:36:45 PM
Washington has two that I know of. One in Mount Vernon on a road I've never driven on, and on Highway 104 in Edmonds, about 10 miles north of Seattle.

There's a new one in Redmond on 148th Ave NE between Redmond Way and Willows Rd. 

There are a few along E 4th Plain Blvd in Vancouver. This one is at the intersection of 4th Plain and Rossiter Ln. I could have sworn there were two or three along Mill Plain Blvd as well, but I couldn't find any on GMSV.

https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1433274035731!6m8!1m7!1sB4bM7FQU3OZGQuKdZ1SmGQ!2m2!1d45.637439!2d-122.632309!3f239.1570081145841!4f-13.516177757172073!5f0.4000000000000002