What’s a HAWK, and How Does It Work?

Q: More education appears to be needed regarding the “HAWKS” on Alabama Street. Two days ago, two police officers in Bellingham patrol cars were observed traveling in opposite directions on Alabama. They both stopped at an activated hawk and were each first in line in their respective lanes. Once the hawk began flashing red and the pedestrians had cleared the crosswalk, the officers remained stopped until the hawk entered the OFF mode. Should they not have proceeded once the crosswalk was clear and the hawk was flashing red?

A: Clearly, if some of our local officers are unsure of how to proceed through HAWK signals, the message of navigating the HAWKs has not penetrated deep enough into the community. The City of Bellingham has some great HAWK-related resources on their website, but I’ll try another way of explaining it that helps me remember what to do at a HAWK.

First of all, if you’re unfamiliar with the term “HAWK”, it is an acronym for “High Intensity Activated Crosswalk” and a few of them have recently been installed on Alabama Street. On a side note, whoever came up with the acronym for these signals seems to have disregarded the basic protocol for acronym development (first letter of each word) in an effort to get a cooler acronym. “HAWK” has a pretty high coolness factor as acronyms go, but it’s a stretch to get “HAWK” from “High Intensity Activated Crosswalk”. Here’s how they make it work: High intensity Activated crossWalK. Definitely getting creative with letter selection. But “HAWK” is a lot more memorable than “HIAC”.

Before we get into the details of driving through a HAWK signal, maybe we should consider why they’re even there in the first place. HAWK signals balance the need for pedestrian safety on high-traffic roads with commuter efficiency. With a traditional green/yellow/red traffic signal, the red light stays illuminated even if there are no pedestrians in the crosswalk. In contrast, a HAWK signal is pedestrian activated and limits driver delay to the actual length of time it takes the walker to cross the street.

Now, to understand HAWK signals, here’s how I break it down: The HAWKs are like two kinds of stop lights rolled into one traffic signal. Separately, we’re familiar with both a solid red light and a flashing red light. Obviously, a solid red means that drivers are to stop and remain stopped for the duration of the solid red light. A flashing red light is treated like a stop sign; Come to a complete stop and proceed when clear. In this case, clear of pedestrians. The HAWK signals put both kinds of red lights back-to-back. As a law-abiding driver, just do what you’d normally do for each kind of red light and you’re set.

At first glance, the HAWK signals can be confusing because they’re new and apparently different. If you divide it into to its individual components, it’s just a dressed up version of solid red and flashing red lights. They’re a great tool for increasing traffic efficiency, as well as a bold visible reminder to watch for some of our most vulnerable road users, people walking to their destinations.