Question: According to Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-33, pedestrians are not allowed to start crossing the street once the flashing hand comes up. They are allowed to continue crossing, however, if they are already in the roadway when the white hand changes to the flashing signal.
My question is about the legality of continuing to cross a road when there’s a median with its own signal involved. If the flashing hand comes up before the pedestrian reaches the median and the pedestrian hasn’t started crossing the second half of the roadway yet, is the pedestrian required to wait until the white hand comes up again? An example of this is on major roadways such as Kalanianaole Highway.
Answer: Yes. “If the pedestrian can get to an area of safety (such as a median that divides a crosswalk into two smaller crosswalks) he should stop there if the light begins flashing ‘Don’t Walk.’ The pedestrian should finish crossing after the light changes to ‘Walk’ again. A pedestrian who steps off from the median after the light has begun flashing ‘Don’t Walk’ would be in violation,” acting Maj. Ben Moszkowicz of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division said in an email.
The situation you describe arises on Kalanianaole Highway between West Hind and East Hind drives, for example, where there are crossing signal buttons on the median (safety island) as well as on the sidewalks on the mauka and makai sides of Kalanianaole Highway.
HRS 291C-33 (808ne.ws/hrs291c33 Opens in a new tab) states that “whenever special pedestrian-control signals, exhibiting the words ‘walk’ or ‘don’t walk’ or the symbols of a walking person or an upraised palm, are in place, such signals shall indicate as follows:
“Walk or Walking Person: Pedestrians facing such signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal and shall be given the right-of-way by the drivers of all vehicles.
“Don’t Walk or Upraised Palm: No pedestrian shall start to cross the roadway in the direction of such signal, whether flashing or steady, but any pedestrian who has partially completed the pedestrian’s crossing on the Walk or Walking Person signal shall complete the crossing to a sidewalk or safety island while the Don’t Walk or Upraised Palm signal is showing.”
The law specifies a safety island as a stopping point, which a pedestrian crossing Kalanianaole Highway in the area you mentioned would reach before getting to the sidewalk on the opposite side of the roadway.
Auwe
If dogs are like family, I have to ask, would you let your child defecate in the street and walk away? If we are going to have more dogs, we need more responsible dog owners. — Sidewalk user
Mahalo
My wife and I would like to express our thousand thanks and appreciation to Officer G. Gomes, who was a big help Jan. 20 in an emergency situation on Kahekili Highway.
We were driving on Kahekili to come home in Kailua. Suddenly the right front tire was blown off and it was hard to control the vehicle, and I was scared and panicked but had to continue to drive to find the shoulder to stop. After I finally managed to stop my car in the shoulder, we were still in shock and did not know what to do next because this was the first blown tire we have had.
At that moment, Officer Gomes stopped beside us to release us from this dangerous and stressful situation. He inflated our spare tire, lifted our car, took off the broken tire and installed the spare tire. He worked very hard. We felt so lucky to have him there like an angel to help people in need. A thousand thanks to Officer Gomes and the Honolulu Police Department. Thank you! You are people’s good police! — John Z. and Xiaoping L.
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