Tuesday, December 24, 2019

New HAWK beacons installed on Tuckerman Lane in Bethesda

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich
HAWK signals also
coming soon to 
Friendship Heights

Montgomery County has activated new HAWK beacon signals on Tuckerman Lane in Bethesda, at the crossing with the Bethesda Trolley Trail. HAWK beacons flash yellow after a pedestrian presses the signal button, turn solid yellow and then red to stop oncoming cars. The pedestrians attempting to cross then receive a walk signal. They are a way to increase safety at crosswalks away from traffic signals without constantly stopping traffic flow like a traditional traffic signal; the HAWK signal only stops traffic when there is actually someone trying to cross the road.

“This represents the latest milestone in our efforts to increase the walkability of our communities,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said Monday. “Our residents have a right to safe crossings as they move around the neighborhood, shop and run errands.” The next HAWK signal to be installed countywide will be on Willard Avenue at The Hills Plaza, in the Village of Friendship Heights.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do not like HAWK signals

Anonymous said...

@7:03 I think in certain situations they could be very useful though. On the Chapman Ave. Metro station crossing, very few drivers pay attention to the crossing lights. It's probably more important to have safe crossings on major thoroughfares, admittedly, but still.