That appears to be a standard pedestrian signal. Maybe you haven't seen the HAWK in action? If it were so easy to make other signals have the same function (which I believe is not allowed in the manual), the HAWK wouldn't exist.
I know exactly what a HAWK is, how it works, and why it is confusing.
I think you're not understanding.
What exactly does a HAWK do that the signal in my picture does not?
The HAWK was invented to get around a bureaucratic problem. That problem was that to install a standard traffic signal, you need to meet certain "warrants" which include x number of vehicles or y number of pedestrians. Rather than, you know, change those warrants (as Los Angeles did), a consultant genius decided that the best solution was to invent a brand new traffic signal, with a display system that conflicts with what everybody is taught, and to send it out into the wild in an environment where people only take a driving test once in their life. Oh, and obviously make money selling the new signal.
The important thing about a hawk is that it turns into a "go when clear" when the pedestrian clears, right?
This is not the case with, for example, a flashing red, which remains a "stop and then go when clear" even after the pedestrian is out of the intersection.
A HAWK displays a steady red when the pedestrian has a walk signal. When the countdown begins for the pedestrian, it displays a flashing red to the vehicles, which allows them to proceed if the crosswalk is clear (after coming to a full stop).
A standard traffic signal modified for pedestrian crossings, such as the 200+ used in Los Angeles, displays a steady red when the pedestrian has a walk signal. When the countdown begins for the pedestrian, it displays a flashing red to the vehicles, which allows them to proceed if the crosswalk is clear (after coming to a full stop).
AKA: They have the exact same functionality in regards to traffic movements.
Here is the problem with a HAWK:
Drivers are instructed that if a traffic signal is dark, it should be treated as broken and thus an all-way stop.
Except for a HAWK, where dark now means go.
Drivers are instructed that an alternating flashing red means a train is coming AND DO NOT PROCEED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE OR YOU'LL DIE.
Except a HAWK where alternating flashing red means stop and then go.
!?!
Do you see the issue?
HAWKs help maintain a close-to-normal LOS while still providing safety for pedestrians by stopping traffic briefly. And when thinking about LOS, it's not just about cars - maintaining LOS also helps buses.
HAWk provides the same LOS as a standard traffic signal programmed to display a blinking red during the countdown phase.