Oak Park pedestrians at 11 intersections are getting new flashing beacons that alert drivers to stop for crosswalk traffic.

The village is installing 25 rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, at crossings throughout the community. Pedestrians press a button to activate flashing lights that signal drivers to yield. Installation was scheduled to begin the week of June 29 and was still underway as of Oct. 5, according to the Village of Oak Park's social media account.

The Village Board approved the project Dec. 2, 2025, under Resolution RES 25-340, awarding a contract to Lyons Electric Company. The contract covered up to 28 beacons at 11 intersections for $628,252. The village has since described the project as 25 beacons. Trustees expanded the original eight-intersection scope after Lyons Electric submitted the lowest bid at $445,000, adding three intersections for $183,251.

By early August, the contractor was still awaiting delivery of remaining signs, according to the Village Manager's weekly report. Two locations still awaiting installation as of mid-September were the Augusta Street and Marion Street intersection and the Augusta Street and Kenilworth Avenue intersection. A full list of all 11 intersections has not been published in available village documents.

The beacons are part of a broader summer 2026 traffic-calming push tied to Oak Park's Vision Zero Action Plan and Bike Plan Update. The village also installed 81 speed cushions and 17 traffic diverters on streets throughout the community, according to the village's Engage Oak Park page. Those treatments are part of the Neighborhood Greenway Network, a system of residential streets that prioritizes cyclists and pedestrians.

Assistant Village Engineer Chris Welch worked with Media Production Manager Joe Kreml to produce a video explaining the beacons, published Sept. 14.

In a Sept. 8 letter to the Wednesday Journal, Oak Park resident Thomas Hallock, who lives at the corner of Thomas Street and Oak Park Avenue, cited Federal Highway Administration studies. Those studies put driver yielding at crosswalks near 18 percent without beacons and 80 percent or better with them, Hallock wrote.

"A street that is only safe when every driver is careful every single time isn't safe," Hallock wrote. "It's lucky."

The village has not announced a completion date for the remaining installations.