New Initiatives Promote Crosswalk Safety in Kent, OH Ahead of Safe Driver Awareness Month
The above map depicts high traffic crosswalks on and around the Kent State campus as well as pedestrian crash locations in Kent, Ohio from 2014-2016. By clicking a location the amount of crashes and the type of crash are indicated.
On Wednesday, April 1st of 2015, Emily Bagnola, was busy printing off papers at the FedEx on Main Street in Kent for an assignment for her fashion class. After gathering her large stack of freshly printed papers around 3 p.m., Emily exited the FedEx and waited by the crosswalk in front of the Papa John’s. “I had the walk sign and everything,” Emily said, as she then started to cross Main Street. Not even making it halfway across the road, when “someone turned left, towards [her] opposite direction,” and struck her with their vehicle.
Emily didn’t sustain any substantial injuries from the incident, but was left stunned by how quick the events happened, and shocked by the amount of danger she was in. “[Drivers] don’t always realize that they don’t have the right away,” Emily said. “When they are turning left, and don’t have the arrow, they just kind of go.” Not stopping for sometimes even pedestrians, like Emily.
Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) most recent Bicycle and Pedestrian Crash Report stated that there were 501 pedestrian related crashes between 2014 and 2016 in the Akron metropolitan area alone, which includes Portage county. Out of those crashes, 428 resulted in injury, and 16 resulted in fatality. The most common area for pedestrian accidents: intersections.
It’s statistics like these, and stories like Emily’s, which prompts cities within Portage county like Kent to advocate and invest in safer installments and techniques to improve pedestrian safety when using crosswalks.
Jim Bowling, Kent city engineer, has been working over the past few years to help make these ideas on how to make crosswalks safer, become a reality. A conjoined project between the city of Kent and the university, adding onto the already two year long Summit street project, includes new crosswalk technology at the Summit street roundabout, soon to be unveiled.
How a Hawk Beacon Crosswalk Works
High-intensity Activated crossWalK, or HAWK, is a new and innovative pedestrian crosswalk signal technology, which promotes pedestrian and driver/vehicle safety at crosswalks. These signals, placed anywhere within 100 ft. of the intersection, use a special combination of beacon flashers and traffic control signaling techniques, at a previously un-signalized location, to assist in pedestrians crossing.
The beacons use a sequence of solid and flashing red and yellow lights, which indicate different commands to move pedestrians across in less than 15 seconds. There will be a button for pedestrians to press at either side of the crosswalk. This button will activate a flashing yellow light for seven seconds, followed by solid yellow for 4 seconds, in order to yield traffic to the upcoming stop.
At this point a solid red light will be activated for 3 seconds, prior to a walk indication light, signaling to pedestrians that it is now safe to cross. For the next ten seconds, the red light and walk indicator will flash while pedestrians cross, followed by no signals, indicating the flow of vehicles again.
This entire sequence will be able to move larger groups of pedestrians across more complex and dangerous intersections faster than ever before.
“Were installing HAWK beacons (High-intensity Activated CrossWalk),” Bowling said, addressing the specific technology being built. This new and innovative technology, allows pedestrians to cross part of the roundabout by simply hitting a button, which will briefly stop traffic using different beacons. Its a quick and simple way to keep everyone safe, and traffic flowing smoothly. “Essentially, this will continue at each crosswalk of the roundabout,” Bowling said. “The process repeats itself as you make your way across and around.”
A HAWK Beacon is set to be activated for the roundabout in front of the student center upon the completion of construction in summer 2018. Afterwhich, the technology for the crosswalks will officially be ready for public use.
Tricia Knoles, Kent State Police Department’s Community Resource Officer, noted that common spots of high traffic crosswalks that have involved pedestrian crashes are at Summit Street, the new roundabout location, Lincoln Street and Terrace Drive.
“Once the roundabout in front of the student center is placed, Summit street should be a constant flow of traffic, said Knoles. “So for people who want to cross they will have to use the HAWK system. This is also something we have talked about at the terrace drive crossing area because a lot of students cross there and there are so many cars trying to edge their way through.
Lynette Blasiman, facilitator at Portage County Safe Communities, has been advocating for safer traffic ways in Summit and Portage county since the creation of the coalition in 1996. This state and federally funded program, reaching over 9 million people in the county, reviews and analyzes fatal crash trends in Portage county, and creates counter measures to help prevent future crashes and fatalities.
Their reported trends show that drivers are being killed in crashes due to not using seat belts, Portage Safe Communities creates programs and initiatives to raise awareness and try to change the trends.
Distracted drivers and pedestrians alike can look forward to a three week safety program around Kent State's campus in early April. The program will be put on by KSUPD, KPD, Portage County Safe Communities and AAA. #JMCRPP
— caleigh (@caleigh_marten) March 14, 2018
Blasiman said that although fatal crashes for Portage county have decreased within the past few years, overall vehicle accidents have increased. So the advocating to help promote safe traffic ways persists.
“The First three weeks of April, the Kent State Police Department, the Kent Police Department, Portage County Safe Communities and AAA are all collaborating in a pedestrian and distracted driver safety campaign,” said Knoles. “It’s going to be the first time we’ve done this, there will be a soft launch with media, we will have some banners and the Mayor will be there to have his picture taken, and we’ll have the Flash and the black squirrel there too.”
Blasiman is going to be contributing to the April campaign in Kent by collaborating with other county safety advocates, like the local city police departments and engineers, to help promote solutions to the trends they’ve recognized. For the past three years there has been real emphasis on seat belt usage, impaired driving awareness, and reduced driving distractions.
This year there will extra emphasis on awareness of a different kind. “This will be the first pedestrian distracted campaign that I’ve been a part of,” Blasiman said. “Because April is distracted driving awareness month, I think they’re taking that to a new level.”
Just in time for April's traffic safety awareness month, new Hight-intensity Activated crossWalK (HAWK) technologies will be implemented at roundabouts on Summit street in Kent and in front of the university's student center, to help promote pedestrian and driver safety. #JMCRPP
— ⟁ (@imjesse_o) March 14, 2018
With distracted drivers already a main issue in the county, it has become increasingly dangerous with the now large portion of distracted pedestrians. “You can cross the street without having to use your phone,” Blasiman said. “If the pedestrian is distracted and the driver is distracted, it doesn’t have a positive outcome.”
For the upcoming awareness month of April, there will be real concern on raising awareness on how to not be a distracted pedestrian. Whether that be not looking at a phone, not listening to earbuds or headphones, or really making sure to look both ways before crossing, this year will stress the importance of being a defensive and safer pedestrian, as well as driver.
“It took a while to convince people to wear seatbelts,” Blasiman said, explaining how safety trends that will make a large lasting effect, are sometimes slow to catch on with the public. “If we continue to see trends, we have to do some counter-measure.” Blasiman points out that it’s illegal to be publically intoxicated, and that there are even new laws to prevent texting and driving, one of the main causes of distracted driving today. In the future, it might be possible to be punished for being a distracted and reckless pedestrian.
For the Safety awareness campaign, students and community members can expect law enforcement involvement and opportunities to be recognized for paying attention on the road. Officer Knoles said that there will be flyers with pizza boxes, cup holders and coffee cups with safety messages on them.
There will be officers placed at different crosswalk locaitons and if they see a pedestrian paying attention while crossing they will get some kind of coupon for free coffee or a similar item. More information, regarding the campaign, will be released the last week in March.
