Council hears staff recommendation to install HAWK crossing on Wasatch Boulevard to improve school and trail access

Public Works engineer Britney Ward presented a safety study for pedestrian crossings along Wasatch Boulevard and recommended installing a HAWK crossing at the established 2220 East school crossing to improve visibility and reduce serious-injury crash risk. Ward said the HAWK would preserve the reduced-speed school zone and allow the crossing guard and school bus stops to continue while adding an overhead red signal that requires vehicles to stop when activated. "When a pedestrian 1st pushes the button, it turns yellow and then it turns red to a solid red," Ward said, describing the HAWK sequence and how drivers would be required to stop on the solid red indication.

Council members asked about measured vehicle speeds and crash history; Ward noted the 85th-percentile travel speeds were about 40–43 mph on the 40-mph posted section and that prior remedies (advanced warning signs, RRFBs, audible signals, driver-feedback trailers, maintenance, enforcement) remain in place. Ward told the council the existing $200,000 appropriation would cover installing the HAWK and that additional features such as bulb-outs or an advanced-warning signal would require more funding. "The current $200,000 would appropriately cover the cost of installing the hawk signal," she said. Several council members expressed support for moving ahead with the HAWK and studying any follow-up measures and impacts on bicycle facilities and sight-distance constraints before final design decisions.