"HAWK" Lights to be Activated This Week

Spokane’s first-ever “HAWK lights” will begin operating over the next week. The newly installed signal at Ruby Street and Boone Avenue will be activated tomorrow Tuesday, June 2. The light at 18^th Avenue and Grand Boulevard is tentatively scheduled to be turned on Wednesday, June 3.

Work began earlier this year on the new High Intensity Activated Crosswalks (HAWK lights). The signals are part of a pilot program. The pedestrian traffic between the university and surrounding residential neighborhoods and the numerous retail businesses in the area make Ruby and Boone a good location to test their effectiveness. New residential and retail construction in the area will add to the foot and bicycle traffic that already uses the retail corridor.

A HAWK signal will flash yellow when a pedestrian pushes the signal button, change to solid yellow and then to solid red, which requires all drivers to stop. Drivers can proceed when the red light starts flashing as long as pedestrians have cleared the crosswalk.