Halogen lights to be installed in Hickory Boulevard following fatal accident

In early December, a series of quartz halogen lights will be installed in the pavement, illuminating a crosswalk that currently is marked only with a more low-tech denoter: paint. Once the lights are in place, pedestrians will press a pole-mounted button to activate them. The glow will put oncoming traffic on notice that someone is about to cross the street.

The crosswalk project is one of several measures the city and county have taken to improve safety on Hickory Boulevard since Frank and Marie Fox were hit by a Nissan Pathfinder while walking along the Hickory Boulevard sidewalk in February 2002. Marie Fox died of her injuries. Her husband was seriously injured.

The project will cost about $25,000, Davis said. Lee County is paying most of it because Hickory Boulevard is a county road. The city of Bonita Springs has agreed to kick in $2,000.

The lights will be installed about 5 feet apart on both sides of the crosswalk.

"People crossing the street will still have to use caution. Flashing lights don't command cars to stop," said John Davis, chief traffic engineer for Lee County.

The only other Lee County crosswalk with a lighting system is in front of the Red Coconut R.V. Park on Fort Myers Beach's Estero Boulevard. Davis said the crosswalk there has been a marginal success. It was installed about a year ago.

"The lights aren't as visible during the day as you would like them to be," he said.

Red Coconut owner Tom Myers agreed.

"They're fine if it's cloudy or at night, but we have a whole lot of sunny days when they just don't show up that well," Myers said.

Davis and Bonita Springs City Councilman Bob Wagner are optimistic that the Hickory Boulevard system will work better than its Fort Myers Beach counterpart. The lights are brighter and cast a yellow glow that Davis and Wagner believe will be more visible to traffic.

"It's a trial," Wagner said. "We'll see how well it works and then use it at other crosswalks if we like it."

Wagner said the crosswalk at the intersection of Forester Drive and Bonita Beach Road is the one he'd like to see lighted next. After that, he thinks the lights could be incorporated into crosswalks on Old 41 Road, where the city is trying to promote a pedestrian-friendly downtown.

Myers said he's pushing for another light at the Fort Myers Beach crosswalk. He wants the county to add a light that would flash red whenever the crosswalk system is activated.

"To me, it needs something more than what's there if it's going to let drivers know someone's about to cross the street," he said.