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Cary, Wake County

Cary: Temporary flashing beacons go in at Ederlee Drive after August death

The town's project page set rectangular rapid-flashing beacons for October. CBS 17 reported seeing crews Monday. A permanent hybrid signal is still listed years later.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

People gathered on the lawn at Downtown Cary Park

File photo: DowntownCaryPark (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • An NCDOT project page for Ederlee Drive, last updated Sept. 8, 2026, says the Town of Cary will install rectangular rapid-flashing beacons there in October 2026, with the department's support, until a pedestrian hybrid beacon is in place.Confirmed by NCDOT / Town of Cary PublicInput page for HS-2605N
  • That page says the beacons are warning devices, not traffic-control signals. People walking still have to watch for vehicles. Drivers must yield at the marked crossing whether the lights are on or not.Confirmed by NCDOT / Town of Cary PublicInput page for HS-2605N
  • The same page lists state project HS-2605N for a pedestrian hybrid beacon at the crossing on Ederlee Drive near Peregrine Place. It says funding was awarded in January 2026, the N.C. Board of Transportation approved the project in March 2026, design has started, and bid advertisement is expected in October 2028.Confirmed by NCDOT / Town of Cary PublicInput page for HS-2605N
  • CBS 17 reported Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, that crews were putting up flashing pedestrian signs on Ederlee Drive between Regency Parkway and Peregrine Place.Confirmed by CBS 17, Oct. 20, 2026
  • Cary police identified the pedestrian killed on Aug. 26, 2026, as Soile Lazarz, 76, of Cary. WRAL, citing the department that morning, said emergency crews were called shortly after 7 a.m. to the marked crossing near Peregrine Place, that a black SUV hit her, and that she was pronounced dead at the scene.Confirmed by WRAL, Aug. 26, 2026, citing Cary police
  • An NCDOT spokesperson told WRAL on Aug. 26 that the department is responsible for maintaining that crossing, and that Cary had helped with recent work there.Confirmed by WRAL, Aug. 26, 2026
  • WRAL reported Sept. 15 that the Town Council had authorized a temporary flashing pedestrian sign at that crossing. A recap of the Sept. 10 regular meeting, drawn from the town's published minutes, says Councilmember Bella Huang and Mayor Pro Tem Lori Bush raised the location from the floor and the council directed staff to move ahead with interim safety work. Ederlee Drive was not on the printed discussion agenda that night.Confirmed by WRAL, Sept. 15, 2026; NC govwatch recap of Cary Town Council minutes, Sept. 10, 2026

Alleged or reported

  • The driver was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to reduce speed and failure to yield to a pedestrian.WRAL and CBS 17, citing charging or court records

Still unknown

  • Whether Monday's work finished the October install, or whether more days of setup remain
  • The driver's name. CBS 17 published one from court records; no second independent account we read named the person
  • First-appearance and next-court dates. Those appear in the CBS 17 report only
  • What the temporary lights cost. A neighbor's $50,000 figure in a later WRAL story is not on the project page
  • Whether the October 2028 bid-advertisement date will move earlier

What this means for you

Roads
Rectangular rapid-flashing beacons are the October interim step at the marked crossing on Ederlee Drive near Peregrine Place. They do not give people on foot a walk signal that stops traffic. Yield rules stay the same. The permanent hybrid beacon is a later NCDOT job.

Instructions from N.C. Department of Transportation; Town of Cary

This site is not the Town of Cary or NCDOT. For the project, how the lights work and later dates, use the department's Ederlee Drive beacon page. Follow posted signs. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

What happened

In Cary, temporary warning lights are going up at the marked crossing on Ederlee Drive where a woman was killed in August.

CBS 17 reported Monday that workers were installing the signs between Regency Parkway and Peregrine Place. The official project page, updated Sept. 8, already said town staff would put rectangular rapid-flashing beacons there in October, with NCDOT's backing, until a larger signal is built.

Those units warn drivers. They do not stop traffic. People on foot still have to watch approaching cars. Motorists have to yield at the stripes whether the lights are on or not, the page says.

Cary police identified the person killed as Soile Lazarz, 76. WRAL, citing the department on Aug. 26, said crews were called shortly after 7 a.m., that a black SUV hit her near Peregrine Place, and that she was pronounced dead there.

WRAL later reported the driver was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failing to reduce speed and failing to yield. CBS 17, pointing to court records, reported the same three counts. We are not using a name that appears in only one of those accounts.

The street is a state road. The department's page lists project HS-2605N for a pedestrian hybrid beacon, a push-button signal that can halt cars. Funding was awarded in January. The N.C. Board of Transportation approved it in March. Design has started. Bid advertisement is expected in October 2028.

Cary's Sept. 10 council meeting had no printed item on the crossing. Records of that session, as summarized from the published minutes, say two members raised it from the floor and the board told staff to proceed with interim work.

This site is not the Town of Cary or NCDOT. For how the lights work and any later date changes, use the department's Ederlee beacon page. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No station video stills or town photos are used here.

Why it matters

People who walk or drive Ederlee Drive near Peregrine Place need to know the new lights are a warning, not a red light that stops cars. The state's hybrid beacon is still listed for a 2028 bid. This is not a finished safety rebuild.

Updates

  1. Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

    CBS 17 reported Monday that crews were installing flashing signs on Ederlee Drive. The official project page had already set rectangular rapid-flashing beacons for October, ahead of a later hybrid beacon.

Sources

  1. HS-2605N Pedestrian Beacon, Ederlee Drive (NCDOT / Town of Cary PublicInput page, last updated Sept. 8, 2026: pedestrian hybrid beacon at the crossing near Peregrine Place; funding January 2026; N.C. Board of Transportation approval March 2026; design underway; bid advertisement expected October 2028; Town of Cary to install rectangular rapid-flashing beacons in October 2026 with NCDOT support; RRFBs are warning devices, not control devices; pedestrians must still use caution; drivers must yield whether the beacon is flashing or not)

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Transportation · Checked Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

  2. New pedestrian signs being installed at Cary crosswalk following deadly crash (CBS 17, Oct. 20, 2026: crews seen Monday putting up flashing signs on Ederlee Drive between Regency Parkway and Peregrine Place; Aug. 26 death of Soile Lazarz, 76; NCDOT road; hybrid beacon planned for fall 2028)

    Published by CBS 17 · Checked Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

  3. Woman killed while crossing street in Cary, police say (WRAL, Aug. 26, 2026: Cary police identified Soile Lazarz, 76; shortly after 7 a.m.; Ederlee Drive crossing near Peregrine Place; black SUV; pronounced dead at the scene; NCDOT said it maintains the crossing and that Cary had helped with recent improvements; hybrid beacon planned for fall 2028)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

  4. Cary approves flashing pedestrian signal at crosswalk where woman was killed (WRAL, Sept. 15, 2026: Town Council authorized a temporary flashing pedestrian sign at Ederlee Drive near Peregrine Place; driver charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to reduce speed and failure to yield; permanent hybrid beacon not expected to start until 2028)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

  5. Cary Town Council regular meeting recap, Sept. 10, 2026, 6:30 p.m. (NC govwatch summary of published minutes: no printed discussion item; Councilmember Bella Huang and Mayor Pro Tem Lori Bush raised pedestrian safety at the Ederlee Drive crossing from the floor; council directed staff to move ahead with interim safety improvements)

    Official sourcePublished by NC govwatch (Cary Town Council minutes recap) · Checked Oct 20, 2026, 10:10 AM

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