HAWK... not free... but if it saves lives

HAWK beacon crosswalks
HAWK stands for High-Intensity Activated crossWalK Beacon
perhaps the lamest acronym ever... what does HAWK have to do with crosswalks
and... they did not even use the first letters!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAWK_beacon

http://green.autoblog.com

the other day I attended a community meeting about Traffic Calming
although it is not my neighborhood... the city is all interconnected and well... I wanted to see what people were working on

in this area where traffic was being discussed they were really working on the side streets not the major corridors
although people mentioned Connecticut Avenue and Military Road
the people hosting the discussion really just wanted input on the side streets
yet... people talked about the major roads any way

two things...
MILITARY ROAD- if you build roads to look like highways... people will drive at highway speed
then... when the drivers leave the highway-esque road... they will continue that momentum and carry that intensity
slow traffic by building roads that ask people to drive appropriately
Connecticut Avenue-a few people I spoke with talked about discontinueing the RUSH HOUR four lane-two lane switch
these people believed that the roads should just stay THREE AND THREE
again... the four lanes enables fast driving
then offers some risk of head on collisions for those who do not realize the lane switches
going back to THREE AND THREE may be a good idea

then also on Conn. Ave

uptown near Chevy Chase Circle by the Avalon Theater there are some Orange Safety Flags that pedestrians use to increase visibility when crossing the street
I felt that this should be replaced with a HAWK crosswalk system

a motion activated crosswalk with FLASHING LEDS built into the road that flash when either a button is pushed or if a person passes between the starting point of the crosswalk
yes... it is expensive... but if it saves lives it would be worth it
not in the budget? make it part of the budget

or if we can not afford it
the inexpensive way to make things more safe
HAVE CARS SLOW DOWN?
how?
HAVE CARS OBEY THE LAW!
complete stops at the stop line at the stop sign
respect the NO TURN ON RED signs
when entering the roadways from alleys or parking lots... slow for pedestrians on the sidewalk... then merge appropriately onto the street

BEHAVE!