Should drivers stay or should they go on flashing red lights?

HAWK lights may confuse drivers, but improve pedestrian safety

Q

I've seen quite a few new pedestrian crossings on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, in particular. They are not particularly intuitive. Can you help?

The lights go red as pedestrians cross, as expected. When they clear the road, the lights flash red for several seconds. Drivers look at each other as if to ask, “What do we do now? Are we OK to go, or do we have to wait for the lights to stop flashing?” Your expert input would be appreciated.

— Gary Brauch, Los Altos Hills

A

These are HAWK pedestrian signals, High Intensity Activated Crosswalks. The flashing red lights should be treated like any flashing red light that you might see with signal outages or flashing red four-way stops. When the flashing red cycle begins, the pedestrian countdown begins. When pedestrians are clear of the crosswalk, and if there are no bicyclists or other wheeled users attempting to cross, drivers should stop, look, and, if clear in all directions, may go. After the flashing red stage, the HAWK signal will go off and drivers may proceed.

Q

I remember in 1964 driving my 1957 Ford Skyliner hard-top convertible down El Camino Real from Sunnyvale to Santa Clara, radio blasting away, cruising, as it were. If you didn't stop at a burger joint, you could drive to and smack dab through the middle of Santa Clara University.

Talk about jay walking. At class change time, you would be stopped dead for 5 minutes.

Now there is that neat curve around the university. Students seem to use crosswalks and pedestrian lights at intersections.

On party nights, though, Lafayette Street is a prime jaywalking area, with students distracted by cellphones everywhere.

— Tom D.

A

That area used to be a real big headache for drivers and pedestrians. It's good to hear that it's better most of the time.

Q

I hope you can get this fixed, or tell me who has jurisdiction, so I can start agitating someone. This is about the bike/pedestrian path running along Moffett Park Drive, just north of Highway 237 and south of Lockheed. From one angle, it is obvious the chain link fence is dangerously bent. But coming from the direction and at the time of day that I did, with the curve of the fencing, I did not see the danger in time. My handlebars clipped the fencing when I was riding at a pretty good rate of speed. I wiped out, suffering substantial injuries, and ruined my laptop in the crash. Can you please help get this fixed?

— Cynthia Freedman

A

I'm on it. Sorry to hear about your injuries and ruined laptop.