FISHERS -
Students went back to school Wednesday in Hamilton County and some used a new crosswalk for the first time. But some people are confused over how the crosswalk works.
It was designed to keep students safe crossing Olio Road, but some people think it may take some getting used to for drivers.
Hamilton Southeastern High School senior Mark Sparzo crossed Olio Road Wednesday afternoon with no problem at the crosswalk called "Beacon Hawk."
"You would walk all the way down there to that intersection or to that one and it took about a half-hour beforehand," Sparzo said.
The new crosswalk crosses Olio Road between Fall Creek Elementary and Hamilton Southeastern. You can even scan this sign to learn more about the Beacon Hawk and learning how to get across safely couldn't be more important to Hamilton County mothers like Jackie Wyrick.
"I have kids in school and I want them to be safe, so it's important that people pay attention to the crosswalk," Wyrick said.
In the middle of the road, the crosswalk zig-zags, forcing people to face traffic, so they can decide if it's safe to keep going. That's a plus for people like a group of cross country students on the run.
The traffic light itself stays off until activated, comes on yellow, turns solid red and eventually flashes red before restarting traffic flow. Drivers will also notice the different design of the signal, too.
"They are an odd pattern. They are not hanging down like a regular stoplight. They are kind of like a smiley face, minus the smile," said Fishers mother Renee Lasinger.
Once activated, drivers will have to get used to it possibly being a stop in the middle of the road.
The new crosswalk also has audio to help people get across the street safely. Although there are just a handful of crosswalks like this one in the state, one could be coming to an intersection near you.
The Federal Highway Administration reviewed the Hawk crosswalk, calling it one of the safest and best designs in the country.
Wednesday morning story
The alarm clock is going off a little early for students in Hamilton County Wednesday morning.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools return to classes and students will have a safer way to cross a very busy road.
A new High Intensity Activated Crosswalk, HAWK for short, is much different than a normal crosswalk.
The lights only flash when someone actually wants to cross the road. Press the button, the light starts flashing yellow. Five seconds later it turns red and then you can cross the street.
Traffic is supposed to stop with those two solid red lights. It then gives pedestrians about 20 seconds to cross the road when it starts flashing red. The flashing red lights mean traffic only needs to stop if there are people crossing the road. When the lights stop flashing traffic is free to flow.
Eyewitness News watched Tuesday morning as members of the Hamilton Southeastern cross country team crossed Olio Road using HAWK. Some drivers seemed confused by the system and went through the red light.
Others didn't realize they could go when it started flashing, and some didn't understand that once the lights turned off that traffic can move along.
Pedestrians turn toward traffic in the median of the crosswalk.
A different style stoplight helps control traffic at the crosswalk.
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