Cheyenne Hoping to Have New HAWK Signals Up by Next School Year
The City of Cheyenne is hoping to have two new HAWK (high-intensity activated crosswalk) signals installed before school starts next year.
The signals will be going up at East Pershing Boulevard and McCann Avenue near Baggs Elementary School and Western Hills Boulevard and Moccasin Avenue in front of McCormick Junior High School where 13-year-old student Makaili "Mak" Evans was hit and killed by an SUV nearly two years ago.
"We just got the TAP grant (the federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant awarded through the Wyoming Department of Transportation) a year ago," said City Engineer Tom Cobb.
"It's in WYDOT review and then we'll put it out for a bid," Cobb added. "We're hoping we can get those (signals) in before school starts next year, but it's going to be pretty close."
The city currently has one HAWK signal on Yellowstone Road near Davis Elementary School, and Cobb says "there's been no accidents" there.
He says it's hoped the new signals, which will probably cost somewhere in the ballpark of about $250,000 each, will make the crosswalks by Baggs and McCormick safer "by raising the awareness of the driver and the pedestrian."
But he says educating the public about them will be key.
"I think it's really important that we really publicize this to say, jeez as a driver, when you see that a pedestrian is allowed to cross, you must yield to them," said Cobb.
"We can put signs up everywhere, but if the driver's not paying attention ... I can't account for that," he added.
For more information on how HAWK signals work, check out this Facebook post from the police department:
Look How Much Cheyenne Has Changed In 17 Years!
Gallery Credit: Google Maps
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