ALEXANDRIA, Va. — I was contacted by a traffic engineer in Utah and asked if I could offer my thoughts of the HAWK signal near my condo. I said, “sure, but I’ll blog about it.” My observations are based on unscientific anecdotal evidence. Most of them occurred around 6:45 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

• When it comes down to it, I don’t think the city of Alexandria picked a very good location to test the HAWK signal program. One side (west) of N. Van Dorn Street has no sidewalk and is bordered by a fence separating it from I-395, so the only foot traffic on that side of the street is from people using the N. Van Dorn St./ Maris Ave. bus stop.
• The west side stop is not utilized much during the morning since the majority of bus passengers use the east side stop to catch buses to the Pentagon. Thus, I do not believe the HAWK is activated much in the morning.
• The evening seems to be the primary time for the HAWK’s use. If I used that bus stop and needed to cross N. Van Dorn, I would appreciate having the HAWK there. N. Van Dorn is a heavily traveled four-lane undivided highway with a 40 MPH speed limit.
• If I used one of the other crosswalks nearby, I’d be annoyed mine was not selected and the one at Maris Ave. was chosen.
• Only one crosswalk has a walk signal, though the city plans on fixing that I believe.
• Maris Ave. only has a stop sign. To me it would make sense to have a red beacon that is solid during the pedestrian phase.
• Drivers are not aware that is permissable to go during the flashing phase if pedestrians are no longer present.

In conclusion, this HAWK signal installation is not an ideal prototype for the city of Alexandria as its utility is limited by its location. I suspect that bus commuters appreciate it in the evening though.

PREVIOUSLY: HAWK Signal now operational