WASHINGTON — Drivers in Fairfax County will have to look out for a new kind of traffic signal.
It’s aimed at protecting people walking to and from school.
Although actual installation is not happening right away, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved plans this week for a HAWK signal outside Lynbrook Elementary School in Springfield.
The school is on a stretch of Backlick Road (Va. 617) just outside the Beltway that supervisors and neighbors say can be treacherous for pedestrians who have no good way to cross.
The new signal will allow parents, students and others near the school to push a button to trigger red stop lights in the middle of the block that will allow them to cross.
This will be the first High Intensity Activated Crosswalk signal in Fairfax County, and one of just a handful across the region.
When the District added HAWK signals to Connecticut Avenue NW two years ago, DDOT put out information to help drivers and pedestrians understand how the signal works.
Maryland has a handful of similar signals either in place or in the works too.
Fairfax County will pay about $255,000 for the signal, and an additional $500,000 for sidewalk improvements and utility relocation around Lynbrook.
Several members of the Board of Supervisors hope that if this change goes well, VDOT will allow other, similar signals in other parts of Northern Virginia.
