Disability Advocates Happy with New Roundabout System

West Bloomfield Beacon

By Eric Czarnik, C & G Staff Writer
September 9, 2009

Two years after they started a lawsuit over pedestrian safety, Michael Harris and his attorney, Richard Bernstein, spent a cool, rainy August day safely crossing the Maple-Drake roundabout.

Harris, who uses a wheelchair, and Bernstein, who is blind, were able to navigate the crosswalk Aug. 28 thanks to a pedestrian alert system called HAWK. The acronym stands for high-intensity activated crosswalk.

Bernstein was elated with the technology. "As a blind person, I thought it was state of the art," he said. "The ability to activate the signal for the first time, independently, was a really exciting experience."

After about a month of construction, the HAWK system started working Aug. 19. Beeping sounds and tactile dome-shaped curb ramps alert pedestrians that they are approaching an intersection. From there, pedestrians can push a button that causes a red light and halts traffic. Spoken messages and chirping signals tell the pedestrian when it's safe to cross.

Bernstein was pleased that the system gives plenty of time for vehicles to come to a complete stop before the light changes. "You feel just very safe and secure when you start walking," he said. "I felt very comfortable crossing it." The Road Commission for Oakland County spent about $600, 000 installing the HAWK system as part of a lawsuit agreement with three plaintiffs, whom Bernstein represented.

In August 2007, the plaintiffs sued the RCOC on grounds that the Maple-Drake roundabout's lack of red lights made it difficult for the disabled, bikers and other pedestrians to cross.

Harris, who was one of the plaintiffs, is also the executive director of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America. He was pleased that the HAWK system makes it possible for disabled pedestrians to communicate the need to cross. "Sometimes when I'm out and about, especially in other communities, you cross the street just to go to a restaurant," he said. "Where this is at, you cross the street to go to the Jewish center."

Harris praised the RCOC for being pro-active in finding a creative solution and for listening to concerns. He hopes the HAWK system will become a uniform standard for all state roundabouts through the Michigan Department of Transportation.

RCOC spokesman Craig Bryson saw the HAWK system in action in August and thought the concept was interesting, though he hadn't received any comments from the public about it. "My concern is whether motorists will fully understand it or not, so that is why we're doing everything we can to educate the public," he said.

Bryson said researchers from Western Michigan University will study the system for a year before drawing conclusions on its effectiveness. In the meantime, plans are in the works to install a similar, but not identical, pedestrian signal system at the Maple-Farmington Road roundabout.

But Bernstein was optimistic that the HAWK system could soon become commonplace all over the country. "I genuinely believe that this is going to be the benchmark," he said.