NASHVILLE. Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s no secret that Dickerson Pike has been a problem — specifically when it comes to addressing pedestrian safety. Now, a new device is up and almost running on the strip of road which is known as a hot spot.

“Right now, we know that Dickerson Pike is currently the highest pedestrian fatality roadway in the Nashville area,” explained Olivia Jimenez, Community Development Specialist for Urban Housing Solutions.

Jimenez, along with others, has pushed for renewed safety measures in the Dickerson Pike area. As the Urban Housing Solutions organization works to bring affordable housing, they wanted to combine other measures to help citizens.

It’s a first for Nashville — a pedestrian hybrid beacon known as HAWK.

“It will start to flash to let folks know, ‘hey, slow down,'” described Jimenez. “Adding this sort of beacon lets traffic flow when it needs to flow if there is nobody that needs to cross the street, but then if you are trying to catch a bus, rather than having to dart across the street or go way out of your way, maybe miss a bus if it’s a tight connection, you have this beacon that you can light up so that you can cross the street safely.”

The device helps control traffic and signal drivers when pedestrians are trying to cross the street safely. It’s something LaTrica Edwards wishes was set up when her partner was hit and killed in East Nashville.

“Just be apprehensive, be cognitive, hey there is going to be somebody possibly walking across the street here, you might want to hit your break at this point. I really feel like that could have helped,” explained Edwards.

Her partner, 35-year-old Cierra Burrage, was killed near her home at Oakwood Avenue and Slaydon Drive in December. According to Metro police, Burrage was crossing the road when a speeding driver in a red or burgundy SUV hit her and drove off.

“Despair, I remember feeling confused and disbelief. Disbelief was the number one feeling I had because I couldn’t believe something like that happened to her is how careful she is about going across the street,” Edwards remembered.

Any chance Edwards gets, she likes to think back on how beautiful Burrage was, inside and out.

Burrage was one of 48 pedestrians and two bicyclists who lost their lives on Nashville roads last year. Now, many are hoping the new HAWK device will serve as a hopeful sign of Vision Zero.

The new HAWK system is up and officials hope it will be fully operational by the end of March.