HAWK Beacon to Be Installed on Olio Road in Fishers

August 7th, 2012

FISHERS, Ind. (August 6, 2012) - The Hamilton County Highway Department, in partnership with Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools and the Town of Fishers, has recently installed a pedestrian-controlled crosswalk on Olio Road in front of Hamilton Southeastern High School. This crosswalk, known as the High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) Beacon, will provide a safe and reliable way for pedestrians to cross Olio Road between the Hamilton Southeastern Freshman Center and High School.

“Student safety is always our top priority. This new pedestrian crossing and its easy-to-use interface will help students who need to cross Olio Road do so safely. At the same time, its features are designed to grab the attention of drivers and stop traffic only when someone needs to cross.” said Dr. Brian Smith, superintendent of HSE Schools. “The more aware we can make students, parents and all area drivers about the new crossing system, the safer our students who use it will be.”

As a primary means of traveling between the High School and Freshman Center, Hamilton Southeastern is providing students with a shuttle that runs at specific times during the school day. However, for those instances in which students miss the shuttle or need to cross Olio Road at a time when the shuttle is not running, the HAWK Beacon is available as a dependable, simple way to travel between schools with just the push of a button.

The configuration of the HAWK Beacon is intentionally different than that of standard traffic signals. While the design of the heads and the sequence of the signal indications is unique, all of the yellow and red indications have the same meanings to drivers and pedestrians that they would at a traditional traffic signal. This type of pedestrian beacon is relatively new to Indiana. It is one of the Federal Highway Administration’s 2012 Top 9 Research Proven Safety Countermeasures.

The vehicular signal heads will remain dark until a pedestrian activates the crossing beacon by pushing the pedestrian pushbutton. Upon activation, the dark signal heads will then cycle through the following phases flashing yellow, solid yellow, solid red and flashing red before reverting back to being dark. After pressing the pedestrian pushbutton, pedestrians will continue to get the “Don’t Walk” symbol until the solid red signals are displayed to vehicular traffic. The pedestrian indication will progress the same as at any other signalized pedestrian crossing.

The HAWK Beacon spans across all lanes of Olio Road, including a newly-constructed pedestrian refuge island in the middle of the crosswalk. This median is intended for those who may not be able to cross within the time allocated. Additional buttons are available on the island should someone need to start the crossing process again.

The HAWK Beacon will allow safe pedestrian crossings as well as enhance the connectivity between the Hamilton Southeastern Freshman Center and High School.

For more information, to view a simple animation, to get more detailed signal sequence information or to download the Hawk Beacon’s user guide, visit www.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/hawk.