The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
A new installation on the Division and Franklin Street intersection is causing confusion for pedestrians and drivers.
The recently installed Rapid Flash Beacons are part of the city’s ongoing efforts to keep students safe.
Luke Kronstedt, assistant superintendent of streets, said, “The city has been watching that intersection closely for a couple years now and noticed that it is getting increasingly dangerous for students to cross.”
This increasing danger prompted city crews to install the rapid-flash beacon. To use the beacons students simply push a button triggering the beacon’s solar-powered LED lights which signals the traffic to stop.
While the lights themselves are simple enough to operate, students who have never seen a beacon before may hesitate to make use of them.
Chris Fix, a business owner and resident of the Stevens Point area has noticed a lot of students seem confused by the beacons.
Fix noted that some students do not press the button, while others are using the beacons but are not waiting for traffic to stop completely.
“If everybody doesn’t know how to use them, they’re not going to be effective,” Fix said.
Many students cross the Division and Franklin Street intersection every day. Gabrielle Kittredge, junior elementary education major, is one them.
When Kittredge first saw the beacons, she did not know what they were or how to use them, but she said a driver pulled over and told her what to do.
“It didn’t feel safe,” Kittredge said, when describing the first time she used the beacons.
Newly installed rapid flash beacons were installed at the at the crosswalk at the intersection of Division and Franklin streets in an effort to keep students and pedestrians safe while crossing the busy road. Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen.
Pedestrians aren’t the only ones who may be confused by the beacons. Drivers may also mistake the flashing lights as a cautionary sign, rather than a signal to stop. Fix saw one car run straight through the intersection while the beacons were flashing, never realizing that they needed to stop.
While the beacons may have caused some initial confusion, students and drivers seem to be slowly getting the hang of it.
“The other day when we used it, there were two trucks coming and they actually both stopped,” Kittredge said.
Olivia DeValk
Contributor
Olivia.C.DeValk@uwsp.edu
