HAWK Light Installed on North Avenue Outside Lord & Taylor

A HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK beacon) has been installed on North Avenue between Charles and Clark Streets but has not yet been activated.

In April of 2012, the Westfield Town Council passed a resolution supporting the efforts of Lord & Taylor’s property management company, National Realty and Development Corp., to install a HAWK pedestrian-activated signal at the location. From design to construction and maintenance, the cost of the light will be borne by Lord & Taylor. 

The intersection has been the scene of numerous accidents over the past several years. In December 2012, a 36-year-old woman from Parlin, NJ was hit by a car in the crosswalk on North Avenue West in front of the department store at 4 p.m. The driver, a 21-year-old Cranford woman, was issued a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian in crosswalk. 

In August 2009, a Lord & Taylor employee crossing from the parking lot to the store was hit by a car driven by a suspected drunk driver. The employee, 25-year-old Clark resident Gina Marrotta, received head injuries and broken bones in the accident, which resulted in the arrest of Westfield resident Leslie Boughner. Several years earlier, a Lord & Taylor employee was killed while crossing in that crosswalk.

Councilwoman JoAnn Neylan, chair of the public safety, transportation and parking committee introduced the resolution to approve the light in April of 2012 and said that the committee had been working with the county, as that portion of North Avenue is a county road, and Lord & Taylor since 2010 to improve safety in that area.

Neylan cited a traffic report prepared by Gordon Meth on March 3, 2012 that concluded that a HAWK signal is recommended at that location. The County of Union engaged the firm of Pennoni Associates Inc. to review the report prepared by Meth and concurred with his findings. 

Across town on Central Avenue, another HAWK light has drawn the ire of residents who believe that the signal's mid-block placement has contributed to more than a dozen accidents since its installation in June of 2010, with the most recent occurring Sunday. (Patch requested a copy of the police report on Monday but had not received it at press time.)  

Though the Council took the recommendation of Meth and Pennoni Associates in regard to the light on North Avenue, the Council voted 7-1 at a February 2012 meeting to reject the proposal made in a report conducted by Pennoni Associates commissioned by Union County to replace the controversial stoplight with a more traditional signal. The report is available on the the town’s website .

Third Ward Councilman David Haas, the only Council member to vote against the resolution, requested waiting until both the Council and members of the public had more time to read the traffic report before deciding whether to accept or reject its proposal.