A new user-activated traffic signal on Ninth Street near the Haven Avenue intersection was made fully operational at 8 a.m. today (Wednesday, June 25).
The High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) signal is activated only by a push button and will be timed to work only in coordination with the existing traffic light at Ninth Street and West Avenue.
The signal and a new crosswalk are designed to help bicyclists and pedestrians cross the busy gateway where cars coming from the main route into town (the Route 52 causeway) enter Ocean City.
In light traffic on Wednesday afternoon, bicyclists were using the signal to cross, and there were no backups of any sort on Ninth Street.
The signal works somewhat like a train-crossing signal — with flashing red lights stopping traffic to allow pedestrians and bicycles to cross. After pushing the button to cross, cyclists have to wait for the nearby light at Ninth Street and West Avenue to turn red before the HAWK signal is activated. For more information on how it works, see the PDF below.
The HAWK signal was activated briefly last Wednesday but then placed on flash mode for a week to make drivers aware of the new crossing.
The signal is at the intersection of Aldrich Avenue (near the TD Bank and the Haven Avenue intersection), and it will help provide an easier crossing for bicycles traveling north-south along a safe bicycle corridor under development. It also provides a convenient crossing point for bicycles and pedestrians coming from the new Route 52 causeway path.
City Council awarded a $238,857 contract to Diehl Electric Company of Hammonton in March to complete the work, and the city used a $100,000 state Department of Transportation Safe Street to Transit Program grant for the job.
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