PEDS Blog: August, 2009

On September 17 and 18, PEDS will host two workshops for transportation professionals entitled Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility. The September 18 workshop has already sold out, but registration for the September 17 workshop is still available.

These interactive one-day workshops will be led by nationally recognized pedestrian expert Michael Ronkin and a US Access Board trainer, and will cover sidewalk design, legal policies, retrofits, crossings, curb ramps, the latest ADA requirements, pedestrian signals and much more. PEDS thanks the following sponsors for making these workshops possible.

PEDS applauds the City of Suwanee for installing and activating Georgia’s first HAWK signal — a pedestrian-activated red light — at a busy Buford Highway crosswalk. HAWK stands for High-intensity Activated crossWalK. PEDS has been pushing transportation departments to use these for years. The 11-Alive News video below from back in July explains how they’ll work.

HAWK signals are ideal for crosswalks at uncontrolled locations (no traffic light or stop sign) on multi-lane, high-speed roads. PEDS congratulates Suwanee for taking the lead on implementing this technology. Making Suwanee a walkable city certainly contributes to its selection as one of CNN Money’s “Best Places to Live.”

Watch the WSB TV News video. PEDS coordinated a crosswalk sting with Norcross Police on August 13, resulting in 30 driver citations during the 2-hour activity. Plainclothes cops used the crosswalks while uniformed officers ticketed drivers who failed to stop. Many drivers were surprised to learn (the hard way) that they had to stop for pedestrians that were approaching, but not yet in their lane. Where do you think a crosswalk sting is needed? Let us know.

Great news! DeKalb County plans to install 4 HAWK Signals (High-intensity Activated crossWalk signals) in the Chamblee area of Buford Highway. These are the pedestrian-activated red lights PEDS has been recommending since 2005. The HAWK signals will replace the totally useless flashing yellow crosswalk lights that have been confusing drivers and pedestrians alike. This video from Kansas shows how HAWK signals work: