Don Jones Park Pedestrian Safety Corridor and Crossing 

     Project Description

    Don Jones Park Pedestrian Safety Corridor and Crossing project provides bicycle and pedestrian facilities along Hamrick Road in Central Point, Oregon.  The City of Central Point was awarded a grant for this transportation safety project from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program of the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

    Pedestrian travel across Hamrick Road is currently not safe due to a high percentage of truck traffic and vehicles traveling at high speeds.  There is a need to provide safe pedestrian travel between the newly constructed Don Jones Park and existing neighborhoods located across Hamrick Road.  This project will provide improvements for safe pedestrian travel including the construction of an 1100 foot long pedestrian safety corridor along Hamrick Road between New Haven Road and Naples Drive and an enhanced pedestrian crossing located at the intersection of Hamrick Road and New Haven Road. 

    The pedestrian safety corridor creates a more pedestrian friendly environment by providing traffic calming elements including an enhanced streetscape along Hamrick Road with tree lined medians, narrower vehicle travel lanes and wider bicycle lanes, and concrete traffic separators with dedicated left turn lanes for New Haven Road and Naples Drive.  Decorative street lighting will be included along a portion of the corridor near the enhanced pedestrian crossing for increased nighttime visibility.

    The enhanced pedestrian crossing will feature advance pedestrian crossing warning signs and striped crosswalks across Hamrick Road with one crosswalk being supplemented with a pedestrian activated, rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) crosswalk system.  RRFBs are a relatively new application for pedestrian warning devices under interim approval by the Federal Highway Administration, using rectangular-shaped high-intensity  

 LED-based indications, flashing rapidly in a wig-wag “flickering” flash pattern as an alternative to standard round yellow flashing beacons.  Recent studies have shown very high rates of motorist “yield to pedestrians” compliance to RRFBs in comparison to far lower rates for standard beacons.  RRFB’s are used to supplement post mounted pedestrian crossing warning signs installed at the crosswalk on the side of the roadway.

    Additional pedestrian crossing improvements include construction of new curb and sidewalk to narrow the travel distance across Hamrick Road and installation of new sidewalk ramps compliant with current American’s with Disabilities Act standards.

 Don Jones Intersection