Construction recently started on a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) on State Road 24A and Williston Road at Hawthorne Trail in Gainesville.
According to a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) release, the project is designed to improve pedestrian safety and mobility along Williston Road (State Road 331). The PHB – an advanced crosswalk system – controls pedestrian and vehicle movements along roadways using traffic signals. Click here to watch a video showing how the PHB operates.
Drivers can expect single-lane closures in the southbound lanes of Williston Road (SR 331) and pedestrians should expect periodic sidewalk closures and detours during construction. Both trail and crosswalk access will remain open throughout the project.
The $738,000 project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024. FDOT chose Chinchor Electric Inc. to construct the PHB.
Why is the speed limit 45 MPH for drivers as they drive through the crosswalk for the Gainesville Hawthorne Trail on Williston Road, and then it drops to 35 MPH about 500 feet after they pass through this trail crossing? Why are drivers warned that the speed limit is 35 MPH on this road while they are heading out of downtown Gainesville, but then told to speed up to 45 MPH just as they approach the crosswalk at the Gainesville Hawthorne Trail? A sign yellow sign warns drivers of a trail crossing in the same place that the speed limit sign tells them it is fine to go 10 MPH faster…