TOLEDO, Ohio — Crossing the street near the Toledo Museum of Art is getting a bit safer.
The city of Toledo installed a new pedestrian hybrid beacon crosswalk on Monroe Street in front of the museum. The beacon will replace the current rapid flash beacon with a HAWK signal, and will connect the museum with the glass pavilion.
HAWK signals utilize a sequence of red and yellow lights to stop vehicles when a person uses the crosswalk. One yellow light sits above two red lights in a triangular design. When the yellow light is blinking, a pedestrian is signaling their intention to cross the street.
The two red lamps then flash at the same time the walk signal displays for the pedestrian, signaling vehicles to stop. Once the red lights begin blinking, vehicles can resume driving as long as the crosswalk is empty.
Toledo Department of Transportation Commissioner Sean Burnett says that the project should make crossing the street a lot safer.
“Studies show that there is generally a 97% rate of compliance,” Burnett said. “Something about the overhead signal really gives it the extra boost it needs.”
The beacon comes after a $1.3 million Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project grant from ODOT was given to the city in 2021, but the installation has been delayed until now due to supply chain issues. The signal is one of four safety improvement projects coming to Toledo, and one of two new HAWK signals.
The second HAWK signal will be found at the crosswalk in the 4500 block of Hill Avenue and Winterfield Park. Two new rapid flash beacons will be coming to the Bancroft Street crosswalk in front of the University of Toledo's University Hall, and another on Michigan Street between the Lucas County Courthouse and the Family Court building.
The new beacon, with continued improvements to all crosswalk markings, will attempt to improve visibility and overall safety for drivers and pedestrians, while on the roads.
“The compliance is overall much larger than other technologies,” Burnett said. “Our focus is to continue to make Toledo as safe as possible for our pedestrians.”
HAWK signals are nothing new to northwest Ohio. In 2014, the village of Delta became the first to install one, replacing an old traffic light.
Bowling Green State University also utilizes HAWK signals along state Route 64 bordering the south end of campus as drivers head to and from downtown Bowling Green.
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