Montgomery State Senator To Introduce Legislation to Permit HAWK Pedestrian Signals in Maryland

Sen. Roger Manno's bill would change state law to permit the signals and establish penalties for drivers who violate them

By Andrew Metcalf

HAWK signal Federal Highway Administration

State Sen. Roger Manno (D-Silver Spring) has drafted legislation for the 2017 General Assembly that would allow pedestrian-activated HAWK signals to be used on state roads in Maryland.

The bill would add language to the state’s transportation code to permit pedestrian hybrid beacons. The beacons are signals that hang above roadways and that pedestrians can activate with a button. When activated, the beacons turn red to stop traffic and allow walkers and cyclists to cross roadways where there is no traditional traffic signal.

County Council member Roger Berliner last week sent state lawmakers a letter urging them to change the state’s road regulations to allow the pedestrian signals. Manno drafted his bill about a month before Berliner’s letter was sent. Manno said he took on the issue in response to recent deadly collisions in the county—particularly at Veirs Mill Road and Turkey Branch Parkway in Aspen Hill where two cyclists have been killed in vehicle collisions in the past year.

“Hopefully we’ll have County Council and the state delegation’s united support on this issue,” Manno said. “I think on this one everyone agrees there is a problem.”

The General Assembly would consider the bill during the 2017 session, which begins in January. The signals could be placed at midblock or T-crossings, according to the bill’s language.

Most of the time HAWK (High Intensity Activated Crosswalk) signals remain dark to allow traffic to pass through them, but when a pedestrian hits the button to cross, the signals flash yellow for a few seconds, then turn solid yellow to indicate drivers should prepare to stop and, finally, turn a solid double red requiring drivers to stop so pedestrian can cross.

Drivers who fail to stop at a pedestrian signal would be fined up to $500 or face the possibility of up to two months in prison, according to Manno’s bill.

Berliner said in his letter that the signals have the potential to decrease pedestrian and vehicle collisions at heavily used crosswalks on state roads that don’t have standard traffic signals.

A 2010 study by the Federal Highway Administration found that HAWK signals reduced vehicle and pedestrian collisions by 69 percent.

Manno said he’s not sure why there have been a number of recent pedestrian and cyclist collisions on county roadways, but he plans to request additional data from county police to determine the extent of the problem.

“It doesn’t matter why more people are getting killed,” Manno said. “The only thing that ultimately matters is what’s being done to prevent the deaths.”

Manno said he’s not sure what opposition the bill may face, but he hopes he can cobble together a coalition to push the bill through the legislature.

Image above left: State Sen. Roger Manno via Maryland General Assembly website