BY NICK MARTIN
Los Alamos
On Dec. 5 the Transportation Board will hold a meeting to discuss a proposal for installing a crossing of NM4, sidewalks, and trail improvements in White Rock in order to provide safe access to the White Rock town center to the residents of the Mirador Housing subdivision. (1) Many of you not intimately familiar with the situation may have some questions like, “Why is this a problem, aren’t there already installed crossings,” “What the heck is a HAWK signal device,” or “What other options are there.” Well, I would like to address those questions, and voice my support as a resident of the Mirador Subdivision for the County proposal.
Why is this a problem?
For many years now the County has been trying to develop a housing complex on the north side of NM4 in White Rock between Grand Canyon Drive and Sherwood Blvd. They finally greenlit the construction with a developer in 2018. Six years later, and we have nearly 100 homes occupied on the northside of NM4 with the final total sitting at 161 when the community is completed. Unfortunately, in that time, no new crossings have been installed to allow pedestrian access to the southside of NM4. There are plans to install a traffic light and a crossing at Sherwood, but this is tied to the completion of a multi-use commercial property at Mirador Blvd and NM4 which has yet to be started. (2) Unfortunately, this project is many years away. This has resulted in the only legal crossing of NM4 being located at the White Rock Visitor’s Center. I live in the middle of the community, and that’s a half mile walk for me and my family to get across NM4. It’s close to double that for people on the west end of the community. This has resulted in many people running across NM4 at La Vista, risking serious injury or death.
Proposed Solution
Many people in this community over the years have spoken with members of the County government and State government to try to get something done about this, and that brings us to the county proposal to add a HAWK signal roughly just east of the White Rock Baptist church to join up with the trails through thepark. This would decrease the distance to a safe crossing from half a mile to roughly a tenth of a mile from the middle of the community. This is a dramatic improvement. While the county hasn’t provided numbers for the estimated cost, from what I can research online the high end cost of a HAWK installation is $161,000 (adjusted for inflation from the 2018 numbers provided). (3)
What is a HAWK?
A HAWK is a High-Intensity Activated crossWalK signal, also known as a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon. It functions in a similar fashion to a regular traffic signal except that it is designed to control vehicular traffic in two directions, and it is only active when a pedestrian is trying to cross the street. When activated, it signals drivers to stop, using a legal red stop light, then signals the pedestrians to walk using the typical walk signage found at many intersections. (3) This provides the benefit of a controlled crossing, while also reducing the overall impact on vehicular movement, preventing unnecessary stops of vehicles when pedestrians aren’t trying to cross. They are much less expensive to install and operate than a regular traffic light due to lower energy consumption, and they are more environmentally friendly because they reduce unnecessary light pollution by not being operated when no one is around.
These first originated in Tucson, AZ in the late 1990s, and have been studied extensively since then. They have been found to be extremely effective at reducing overall crashes (29% reduction), and more importantly crashes involving pedestrians (69% reduction). (4) Since then, they have been installed across the country, effectively being utilized in cities like Belmont, CA, (5) Phoenix, AZ (6), Arlington, VA (7), Washington D.C. (8) , Eau Claire, WI (9) , and even small towns like Davidson, NC (10) to name only a few. You would be hard pressed to find communities that aren’t adopting these devices.
What other options are there?
The first and obvious option would be to install the traffic light at Sherwood and NM4. to statements from the County Council, this is planned, but the developer is on the hook for the . (2) The problem is that it is tied to the completion of the mixed-use development, which hasn’t even started yet. If this is left up to the developer, it will likely be many years before this is completed. The County could take on this project; however, doing so would incur costs of at least $750,000, and kick off a multi-year design, proposal, and bidding phase before construction could start. (2) This process would likely result in costs exceeding $1 million. I think, ultimately, it’s best to leave this on the developer to install. So, what can be done in the shorter term which will also provide additional access to the community? Well, the County’s proposal is a really good one. Installing this HAWK provides a safe crossing at significantly reduced costs, while also providing greater access to those that live half a mile from the
eventual Sherwood crossing.
A third, and what I believe to be a terrible option, would be to install a signaled intersection at La Vista and NM4. This would provide the safe crossing of NM4, but would incur the same, significant financial costs of installing a light at Sherwood, would result in significant vehicular traffic, and wouldn’t provide any added benefit over the County’s proposal.
Conclusion
By now, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I am in full support of the County’s proposal to install the HAWK along NM4. I think there may be some room for debate around exactly where the HAWK is placed, and maybe it’s worth some consideration around placing it at La Vista and NM4; however, I believe that would be a much more complex design to control four directions of traffic, resulting in additional costs and risks. I think the County has thus far presented the best possible solution, and they have my support.
Hawk signals. HAWK Signals | Davidson, NC – Official Website. (n.d.).
https://www.townofdavidson.org/1337/HAWK-Signals
(2024, November 29). Public invited to Dec. 5 Transportation Board meeting in White Rock on
proposed NM4 crossing and nearby multi-use trail improvement. Los Alamos Reporter.
https://losalamosreporter.com/2024/11/29/public-invited-to-dec-5-transportation-board-meeting-in-white-rock-on-proposed-nm4-crossing-and-nearby-multi-use-trail-improvement/
O’Neill, M. (2024, July 8). Council discusses petition from White Rock residents
requesting to make certain crosswalks safer, add stoplight on NM4. Los Alamos Reporter.
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resident-requesting-to-make-certain-crosswalks-safer-add-stoplight-on-nm4/
Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB). Department of Transportation. (2018, June).
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/step/resources/docs/fhwasa18064.pdf
Safety Effectiveness of the Hawk pedestrian crossing treatment. FHWA. (2010, July).
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topics/hawk-pedestrian-beacon-information
Potter, E. (2019, February 12). Hawk signals: How do they work?. BikeArlington.
https://www.bikearlington.com/hawk-signals-how-do-they-work/
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https://www.eauclairewi.gov/government/our-divisions/engineering/transportation-
traffic/traffic-signals-signage/hawk-signals