Sporting green neon shorts - a color not seen in nature - Bill Appel waits to cross Yale Street at a recently-remodeled section of the Heights Hike and Bike Trail that is about to get a lot more colorful and crowded.

"I hate this part," Appel said last week, jogging in place as traffic whizzes by. "When those lights come on, it'll be a lot better."

The new traffic signal suspended above Appel at Yale and Seventh is a first for Texas, but also an adjustment for residents - some of whom are unsure of its benefit.

Called a toucan, as in "two can go," the signal gives pedestrians and bicyclists a red-yellow-green signal and stops vehicular traffic with a traffic light at the touch of a button. In other spots around Houston, pedestrians can activate walk signs or flashing red lights. Cyclists along Lamar receive a special traffic light along the street's green cycle path.

The toucan takes the signal to another level, said Jeff Weatherford, deputy director of Houston Public Works, who oversees traffic management.

"The (traffic) volumes on 7th are not really there," he said. "It will never meet the warrants for a regular traffic signal."

However, the trail - often bustling with joggers and cyclists and strollers - has enough demand to command its own green lights to stop traffic. Trail users can activate the signal with a button, similar to pedestrian crossings at major intersections. Drivers stop as they would in any other traffic signal circumstance.

"It's a traffic signal to them, no difference at all," Weatherford said.

The timing is set to give pedestrians time to cross the street. As trail use increases in various spots around Houston, Weatherford said the toucan signals could be installed in other spots where practical and when funding allows it.

At 11th Street, just a few blocks from Yale, would be an ideal location, Weatherford said, noting the dash joggers and cyclists must do to cross the street.

Developer, city share cost

In the U.S., use of these signals are rare. Tucson, Ariz., has installed some starting in 1998. A study of the signal after it was installed indicated cycling at the intersection doubled following its operation.

Trammell Crow Residential, developers of two apartment buildings along Yale near the trail, paid for the toucan's analysis and construction, estimated to cost between $150,000 and $200,000, said Ben Johnson with Trammell Crow.

The company agreed to pay for the signal during discussions with residents skeptical about the developments, which are expected to increase traffic on Yale.

The city will pay for maintenance and operations, including the cost of electricity to operate the signals.

The trail's new location, however, has alarmed some. To line up the signal with Seventh, a requirement of state traffic codes, the trail curves headed east and deposits cyclists and pedestrians on the east side of Seventh into a median installed in the middle of the street.

The center location is less safe, said Shirley Summers, as she pushed her daughter Molly, 2, in a stroller.

"Cars turning right can't see where I'm going," she said last week.

Though the number of cars turning on Seventh is small - around 500 vehicles use it daily based on 2012 traffic counts - use is likely to increase as development around the intersection continues. A commercial development is planned along Seventh between Heights and Yale.

Other concerns

In addition to concerns about pedestrians waiting in the center of the street, concerns have been raised about the area where people stand as they cross. With trail use increasing, frequent trail users have said the area is too small.

Summers, standing with another woman also sporting a stroller, said a bicyclist would have no place to wait with them.

"It'll be crowded on weekends," Summers said.

Weatherford agreed the location could get cramped but is overall a better configuration.

"It will be a safer trail crossing," he said.

Appel, waiting for a break in the cars and taking a breather from a recent morning run, agreed, with a little caveat.

"I'm still going to watch out," he said, noting Yale has a lot of vehicles. "The way people drive … I'm no match for a pickup."