City of San Luis Obispo, CA
Home MenuPedestrian Hybrid Beacon Crosswalks
Safer Streets. Healthier Community.
One death on our city streets is too many.
Our goal is to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries in San Luis Obispo, and a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon crosswalk is one tool that can help.
A Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon, also referred to as a “HAWK Beacon” in some locations, is used to stop traffic and allow pedestrians and bicyclists to safely cross from one side of a busy street to the other.
The City has a variety of traffic control tools that can allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross the street safely. A pedestrian hybrid beacon is one such tool.
These beacons are installed with crosswalks on busy streets where traffic conditions do not yet warrant a full traffic signal, but where a standard crosswalk would not slow traffic quickly enough for someone to safely cross that street. Installing a beacon instead of a full traffic signal on a highly trafficked city street also reduces delays to drivers.
Our engineers analyze traffic conditions on busy city streets to determine if they meet certain thresholds for a full traffic signal, including:
- traffic volumes
- number of pedestrian crossings
- collision history
Where those thresholds are not met, the City may instead install a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety and reduce disruption to the street’s traffic flow.
Vision Zero - Making Our Streets Safer
The City of SLO has implemented pedestrian hybrid beacons on City streets to help further City’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and severe injury crashes citywide by 2030.
Pedestrian hybrid beacon crosswalks are becoming more popular across the United States because they are proven to be an effective solution because they:
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Improve mobility and crossing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists,
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Cause fewer delays than a full traffic signal
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Encourage drivers to yield to fellow community members walking and biking at street crossing.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, these beacon crosswalks have been shown to significantly reduce vehicle-pedestrian crashes. A Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study published in 2010 found that pedestrian hybrid beacon crosswalks can reduce pedestrian crashes by 69% and total crashes by 29%. Because the beacons remain dark until activated, they can help increase driver attention to pedestrians crossing the roadway, and can reduce rear-end collisions. The pedestrian hybrid beacon's red signal indication removes any judgment from the motorists and requires a complete stop. The PHB provides a clear message that motorists must stop and allow pedestrians to cross the street. Motorist compliance with the requirement to yield has been shown to exceed 90 percent at PHBs.
How to Use a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon Crosswalk
Help keep our community safe by learning how to use the pedestrian hybrid beacons around the City
A pedestrian hybrid beacon remains dark until activated by a pedestrian or bicyclist pushing the button to cross on the side of the street. For drivers:
- If the beacon is dark, proceed carefully without stopping.
- If the beacon is flashing yellow, proceed with caution and be aware that someone is about to cross the street.
- If the beacon shows a solid yellow light, slow down and prepare to stop.
- If there is a solid red light, come to a complete stop for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross.
- If the beacon is flashing red, treat it as a stop sign (stop, look for pedestrians and proceed when it is safe to do so.)
If approaching the beacon from the side street, the beacon should be treated as a stop sign. Signs may prohibit turns from the side during the crossing phase. Drivers on side streets should not turn if signals are activated.
A pedestrian hybrid beacon should be treated no differently than how individuals would normally cross using a traditional traffic signal for pedestrians and bicyclists.
In order to cross, pedestrians and bicyclists should
- Activate the beacon by pressing the button.
- Wait until the walk or bike signals appears before crossing.
- Follow the walk or bike signals to safely cross across the street and get to your destination without causing any traffic delays.