LA MESA, Calif. — A new pedestrian crossing signal is up and running on El Cajon Boulevard at Jessie Avenue in La Mesa. It's part of the city's Vision Zero policy, aimed at reducing pedestrian fatalities.
It's called a HAWK: High Intensity Activated Crosswalk, and it talks to pedestrians when they push the crossing button, telling them to wait and the name of the street, El Cajon Boulevard.
Drivers on the road will see a cluster three, red and yellow traffic lights.
“Once the pedestrian activates a signal, the lights will turn to flashing yellow. And that's telling the driver to prepare to stop, slow down,” said Grecia Aguilar, a City of La Mesa spokesperson.
After that, the lights change to solid red. “It turns red first, a solid red first, and that means you have to stop. By law, you have to stop for pedestrians,” said Aguilar.
The next part is a bit confusing. The lights change from solid red to flashing red. “When it starts flashing (red). You can proceed with caution. If there are no pedestrians crossing, you may continue to drive. If you see a pedestrian crossing, but the lights are flashing (red) you have to stop,” said Aguilar.
The city has installed signs telling drivers to stop if flashing red and proceed if clear.
Customers and business owners in the area seemed to like the new crossing. “It was hard coming out of there because you had to wait for traffic and then it was kind of a blind spot because of the curve on this street,” said one customer at the nearby Q-Cute barber shop.
”A person passed away just crossing the street because people basically kind of fly down the street. So this is going to stop them and give them a little bit more of a break,” said Jay Zamzow, owner of Norm’s Cocktails near the intersection.
The HAWK crossing signal cost $440,000, which the city said was mostly grant-funded.
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