BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Roadway safety is improving in southern Brevard County. The Florida Department of Transportation has activated a new pedestrian hybrid beacon on U.S. 1 in Malabar.
“There was this couple who was crossing this corridor, U.S. 1 in Malabar, they were trying to get to Yellow Dog Café to meet friends,” Abby Hemenway with the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization, said. “They were killed on impact while crossing the street.”
A 2013 tragedy that claimed the lives of Carl and Mary Burch has called for roadway safety improvements for more than a decade in Brevard County.
The Florida Department of Transportation recently activated a pedestrian hybrid beacon near the Yellow Dog Café in Malabar.
Hemenway said it’s designed to provide a safer way for people walking or biking to cross this busy corridor.
“It’s push activated and it actually goes through multiple different signals to alert a driver to slow down and eventually stop, turning red, then they can proceed when pedestrians have crossed,” Hemenway said.
Here’s how it works.
A pedestrian pushes the button to activate the beacon.
The signal then goes through a series of flashing and solid lights, eventually stopping traffic in both directions.
That gives the person crossing a clear path without keeping traffic stopped when no one is using the crosswalk.
There’s a reason transportation officials are turning to this type of signal.
The Federal Highway Administration said pedestrian hybrid beacons have been associated with a 29% reduction in crashes. Pedestrian crashes dropped 55%, while serious-injury and fatal crashes fell 15%.
“It acts like a signal,” Hemenway said. “It draws the extra attention to motorist of alerting you a pedestrian is about to cross, now they’ve cleared the roadway.”
This is part of a broader safety improvement effort along a nearly four-mile stretch of U.S. 1 north of Century Oaks Circle to north of Myers Drive, with upgraded lighting, signage, and paint.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2026 Cox Media Group
