City’s First Pedestrian Safety Signal Activated In Corridor Where Two Died

The city’s first pedestrian-activated safety beacon began operating Monday at Washington Boulevard and Hudson Avenue, an intersection in the area where two people were struck by vehicles and killed within four months of each other in 2020 and 2021.

The signal, known as a HAWK — High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk — is the first of its kind in Pasadena and part of the city’s Safe System Approach, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2035. Three additional HAWK signals are proposed at other intersections, according to city transportation officials.

The $309,396 project serves residents of two adjacent senior housing facilities — Hudson Gardens Apartments and Arbor Vista — as well as riders who use transit stops for Pasadena Transit Lines 31 and 32 and Metro Line 268. The intersection also provides access to Washington Park and North Lake Square Shopping Center.

Christopher Andrew Mendez, 36, was killed at Washington Boulevard and Palm Terrace, one block west, on Oct. 23, 2020. Police said he was struck by a driver who was later charged with murder after tests showed a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit.

Less than four months later, on Feb. 11, 2021, Dennis K. Moore, 61, was killed at the Hudson Avenue intersection while crossing in front of Arbor Vista, where public records indicate he lived. Police said he was struck by two vehicles; the second driver fled and was not identified.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition immediately called for safety improvements at the intersection following Moore’s death.

The beacon head stays dark until a pedestrian presses a button to cross, then displays a flashing yellow warning, solid yellow, and solid red while the pedestrian crosses. Drivers then see alternating flashing red before the signal goes dark again.

Federal Highway Administration studies have found that pedestrian hybrid beacons can reduce pedestrian crashes by 55 percent and total crashes by 29 percent. A separate study found 97 percent of motorists complied with the HAWK signal.

“Significant progress has been made over the last month,” Greg de Vinck, Pasadena’s Director of Public Works, said in November as construction neared completion. “Over the next month, the contractor will install the thermoplastic striping for the new crosswalk and activate the HAWK signal to complete the project.”

The City Council awarded the construction contract to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. of Chino on Feb. 3, 2025. Work began in September and was completed in December.

Funding came from the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program, Metro’s Measure M Subregional Program, and city development fees.

The signal is the first in what the city’s Department of Transportation says will be a broader deployment. Additional HAWK signals are proposed for Lincoln Avenue at Toolen Place, Lake Avenue at Atchison and Elizabeth streets, and Washington Boulevard at Bresee Avenue, according to the city’s Local Roadway Safety Action Plan.

Segments comprising 13 percent of Pasadena’s roadway network account for about 80 percent of injury crashes, that plan found.

For more information, contact the Public Works Street Lights and Traffic Signals Division at (626) 744-3885.

The HAWK technology was first developed in Tucson, Arizona, in 2000 and has since been adopted nationwide. Tucson now itself operates more than 90 such signals.