Watching pedestrians like a HAWK
It is now safer for pedestrians to cross Route 1 at the Rehoboth Avenue intersection thanks to Sussex County's first high-intensity activated crosswalk, known as a HAWK signal.
Only the third one installed in Delaware, the new pedestrian signal system was one of the many recommendations of the Route 1 Pedestrian Safety Task Force.
The signal is designed for minimal traffic disruption in places that do not meet criteria for traditional pedestrian traffic signals. The signal can only be activated by pedestrians using the crosswalk. Once the activation button is pushed, all commands are audible.
“There is no reason for vehicles to stop at this location other than to allow pedestrians to cross,” said Denny Hehman, Delaware Department of Transportation's traffic field operations supervisor.
Once activated, the signal will go through a series of stages that will stop traffic long enough for pedestrians to cross Route 1. Traffic will then be allowed to proceed and the signal will reset itself until activated again. When the signal is not active, it will be dark to allow traffic to move freely.
The signal cycle takes about 30 seconds as it goes from flashing yellow to full red to flashing red when vehicles can proceed with caution. “To pedestrians, the crosswalk will seem like every other crosswalk,” Hehman said.
The HAWK signal is for southbound Route 1 traffic only. Northbound Route 1 and traffic going to and from Route 1A into Rehoboth Beach will still be controlled by a standard traffic signal, with new pedestrian signals added.
Hehman - who oversaw installation of the system - said another HAWK signal will be installed at the Holland Glade-Route 1 intersection.
Mark Luszcz, DelDOT's chief engineer, said the intersection of Route 1 and Route 1A is partially signalized, with northbound traffic on Route 1 stopped by the traffic signal, which allows Rehoboth Avenue traffic - both into and out of Rehoboth Beach - to proceed. Southbound Route 1 through traffic destined for Dewey Beach and points south is not stopped by a traffic signal. This traffic will be stopped by the new HAWK signal.
The Route 1 Pedestrian Safety Task Force, headed by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, was established July 1, 2013, to recommend options to improve pedestrian safety on Route 1 from the Nassau Bridge to the southern town limits of Dewey Beach.
Some recommendations were implemented prior to summer 2014, including modifications to the bus/bike/right-turn lane, reduction of sign clutter and installation of an overhead pedestrian warning sign with flashing beacons for southbound traffic heading toward Dewey Beach.
Other recommendations - including continuous sidewalks from Five Points to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal bridge and six new signalized crosswalks to cross Route 1 - are under construction with completion expected by early July 2016.
