Sandy staff recommend HAWK signal, keep crossing at 2220 East to improve safety on Wasatch Boulevard

Public Works staff recommended installing a HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crosswalk) signal at the existing 2220 East/High Mesa Drive crossing on Wasatch Boulevard to improve pedestrian safety, particularly for schoolchildren and park users.

The recommendation came during the Sept. 16 Sandy City Council meeting, when Public Works transportation planner Brittney Ward presented a multi-year review of sightings, speed data, sight-distance constraints and prior mitigations along Wasatch Boulevard. “The primary traffic control device at a HAWK crossing is the red light itself,” Ward said, describing how the signal provides a full red indication that requires vehicles to stop and then an alternating flashing red that allows drivers to proceed only after the crosswalk is clear.

Ward told the council that the city has already installed Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) and audible pedestrian signals at other locations, trimmed trees to improve visibility, deployed a mobile speed trailer and established a reduced-speed school zone at 2220 East. She said the HAWK would retain the existing school zone…