The flashing yellow arrows signal for drivers in left-turn lanes to yield to oncoming traffic, said Jennie Huerta, media and communications manager.
“When they don’t have the protected left but they can still turn … we’ve put up flashing yellow arrows,” Huerta said.
Previously, the direction to yield in left-turn lanes was signaled by a circular green light. Hanuscin said this can “lead to undesirable consequences” as some drivers believe it means “go.”
He said the city decided to use yellow flashing lights after studies by the National Highway Cooperative Research Program found the installation of flashing yellow arrows reduced turn crashes.
The cities of Austin and Round Rock have also implemented yellow flashing arrows, Hanuscin said, further influencing Cedar Park’s decision to do the same. That way, drivers will begin see consistent signage regardless of the city they are in.
Cedar Park is installing supplementary signage at the intersections to explain how the yellow flashing arrow signals operate, Hanuscin said.
In addition to the 13 intersections with flashing yellow arrows, the city plans to install the signals throughout the US 183, RM 1431, New Hope Drive and Bagdad Road corridors at intersections “deemed appropriate,” Hanuscin said.
The work on US 183 is scheduled to be complete by the end of July; RM 1431 should be finished by the end of 2017; and New Hope Drive and Bagdad Road's flashing arrow conversions are anticipated to be installed in 2018 into early 2019, Hanuscin said.
Yellow flashing arrows have already been installed at the following intersections in Cedar Park:
- South Lakeline Boulevard and Shenandoah Drive
- South Lakeline and Old Mill Road
- South Lakeline and Little Elm Trail
- South Lakeline and Buttercup Creek Boulevard
- South Lakeline and Fall Creek Drive
- South Lakeline and West Park Street
- Cypress Creek Road and El Salido Parkway
- Cypress Creek and Sun Chase Boulevard
- South Vista Ridge Boulevard and Brushy Creek Road
- South Vista Ridge and East Park
- US 183 and Avery Ranch Boulevard
- US 183 and East Cypress Creek Road
- US 183 and East Little Elm
