Foothill Crossing Project
Location
Foothill Boulevard and Ferrini Road
City or County Responsible for Project
City of San Luis Obispo
Category
Safety or Intelligent Transportation System Projects
Author
Andrew Harris
City of San Luis Obispo
919 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805-783-7857
Project Description
On December 18th, 2019 The City of San Luis Obispo, California, activated the very first Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) or HAWK Beacon intersection in the County of San Luis Obispo at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Ferrini Road. A PHB is a traffic control device used to stop road traffic and allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross safely. They are often used to improve crossings of major streets in locations where conditions do not warrant installation of a full traffic signal. For pedestrians and bicyclists, a PHB provides a similar crossing experience to a conventional traffic signal, with less disruption to vehicle traffic flows on the major street. Being the first of this traffic control systems in the County, City staff conducted a public information campaign to educate the public prior to completion as well as ongoing programs in anticipation of other PHBs planned throughout the City. In addition to the PHB system installation the project included: High-Visibility pedestrian crosswalk and bicycle crossing markings, new ADA curb ramps and path-of-travel improvements at crossing, overhead safety lighting to illuminate the crossing, crossing actuation push buttons conveniently located for bicycles and pedestrians, curb-separated bike lane at the Ferrini intersection approach, bicycle left-turn Box to facilitate crossing from westbound Foothill approach, and Traffic Calming and Route Guidance along Ferrini – three speed humps were installed along Ferrini Road between Foothill and Felton to reduce traffic speeds to a level conducive to a low-stress shared street where bicycles and motor vehicle share travel lanes. High-visibility shared lane markings (“sharrows”) and route signage have also been installed along Ferrini to convey this route as a priority bicycle connection to Pacheco Elementary, Cal Poly State University to the north, and a future Cerro Romauldo Bicycle Boulevard. The crossing at the intersection of Foothill and Ferrini was identified as the highest safe routes to school improvement priority for Pacheco and Bishop’s Peak Elementary schools. The City has already reduced traffic collisions by nearly 60 percent over the past 15 years and this project will help further the City’s Vision Zero goals to eliminate fatal and severe injury crashes citywide by 2030. The completion of this PHB is in line with the City’s Safe Routes to School Plan (SRTS) for the city’s northern neighborhoods. More broadly this project is part of the larger Anholm Neighborhood Greenway Plan which defines a series of physical improvements to develop a low-stress route for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and ability levels connecting the Downtown with Foothill Boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods and furthering the City’s Major City Goal of Sustainable Transportation.
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