Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (HAWK) on Point San Pedro Road

road improvements and paving projects

Currently, pedestrians traveling between the north and south side of the intersection of Point San Pedro Road and Summit Ave have to use a crosswalk that traverses 5 lanes of traffic.  Installation of a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon, also called a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK), at the intersection of Point San Pedro Road and Summit Ave in unincorporated San Rafael, will provide an improved alert to vehicular traffic of pedestrians crossing, forcing vehicular traffic to slow down and stop while pedestrians are crossing the street. What is a HAWK? A HAWK system provides a pedestrian safety improvement for crossing streets. The proposed HAWK signal to be installed here is the same type of device that was installed on Point San Pedro Rd at San Rafael High School and on Sir Francis Drake Blvd at Ash Ave.  The signal indicators for the roadway remain dark until a pedestrian pushes the button to cross.  At that time, the signal will briefly flash yellow, then solid yellow, then solid red at which point the pedestrian will get a walk signal.  During the solid red phase, vehicles are required to remain stopped, just as with a regular traffic signal.  When the pedestrian signal goes to the flashing hand ("don’t walk") phase, the vehicle signal will go into wig-wag ("flashing lights") mode, similar to a railroad crossing signal.  With this indication, motorists may proceed, once they have stopped, if it is safe to do so.  When the pedestrian signal goes to the solid hand the vehicle signals go dark.  For multilane roadways, the HAWK is a superior treatment for pedestrian safety as it requires motorists to stop as opposed to flashing yellow lights.