Marietta will activate its first pedestrian hybrid beacon on Thursday on South Marietta Parkway at the Cobb County Transportation (CCT) Transfer Center.
The pedestrian hybrid beacon, also known as the High intensity Activated crossWalK (or HAWK), is a pedestrian-activated warning device.
Consisting of two red lenses above a single yellow lens, the beacon head is "dark" until the pedestrian desires to cross the street.
When the pedestrian pushes an easy-to-reach button, the beacon displays brief flashing and steady yellow intervals before providing a steady red indication to drivers and a "WALK" indication to pedestrians, allowing them to cross a major roadway while traffic is stopped.
Then the "WALK" indication changes to a flashing orange hand to notify pedestrians that their clearance time is ending. The hybrid beacon displays alternating flashing red lights to drivers while pedestrians finish their crossings before once again going dark at the conclusion of the cycle.
At this location, there is a two-stage crossing, meaning pedestrians cross one direction of traffic at a time. Once they reach the refuge island in the middle, pedestrians must push the button at the other half of the crosswalk to get to the other side of the roadway.
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