MILL CREEK — Silver Firs resident Jim Nunn notes that drivers continue to be confused by a nearby HAWK pedestrian crosswalk signal, which Snohomish County installed over five years ago on Puget Park Drive by the Mill Creek YMCA.
The signal’s acronym is clumsily derived from its full name: high-intensity activated crosswalk. A series of flashing and solid yellow and red lights alert drivers to pedestrians waiting and actively crossing the street.
“It seems pretty clear there is a lot of confusion around the system,” Nunn said.
The signal does not look like a regular traffic signal, so visually it’s already a bit different. There are instructional signs posted for pedestrians. But signs for drivers are minimal.
The county in 2015 installed a similar signal on South Machias Road near Centennial Middle School in Snohomish. In Edmonds, the state in 2015 installed a HAWK signal on Highway 104 by City Park near the ferry lanes.
To recap, here is what the different combinations of lights mean for drivers:
Dark signal: No action required; no pedestrian activity.
Flashing yellow: Drivers should start slowing; a pedestrian has pressed the crosswalk signal and is waiting for the walk sign.
Solid yellow: Drivers should start stopping; signal is about to change to red and give pedestrian the walk sign.
Solid red: All vehicles are required to stop to allow pedestrians to cross.
Flashing red: Drivers may proceed one at a time if crosswalk is clear of pedestrians.
Dark signal: The signal then goes back to dark until a pedestrian pushes the crosswalk button again.
It’s the flashing red-light stage, in particular, that seems to confuse drivers.
“Someone had a good suggestion of changing the flashing lights from red to yellow to help indicate that drivers can proceed after stopping,” Nunn said. “It would make the system more intuitive, in my humble opinion.”
Changing how the lights operate is not an option, said Fay Lim, a spokeswoman for Snohomish County Public Works.
“The beacon is a traffic control device that has been designed and operating according to strict Federal Highway Administration guidelines,” she said. However, “we will look into placing an additional sign for the motorist to clarify the steps when the red light is flashing.”
The county had not received any direct communication about driver confusion with the signals before. So far, it has no plans to add any more HAWK signals to county roads.
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