City Creates Safer Streets

BENTONVILLE — The city added a crosswalk last week at the intersection where a high school student was hit by a school bus last year on a state highway. The move came after the state Highway and Transportation Department said the spot did not meet its criteria for a crosswalk.

City officials asked the state highway department in November to assist in striping crosswalks at signalized intersections on state highways in the city after 17-year-old Megan Davis was struck on Arkansas 102 in October. That intersection at Southeast 14th Street — also known as Arkansas 102 — and Southeast P Street had pedestrian crossing signals but no crosswalk.

At A Glance

Crosswalk Locations

• South Walton and Red Bud, 18th Street, Southeast 28th Street, Arkansas 12, Medical Center Parkway and J Street

• North Walton and Tiger Boulevard

• J Street and Arkansas 102

• J Street and Southeast 28th Street

• Southeast P Street and Arkansas 102

• South Walton at the Walmart Supercenter

Source: City Of Bentonville

The city sent photos of current crosswalks and signalized intersections for the state to review.

“As you are aware, there has been a heightened awareness recently in Bentonville in crosswalk safety and we want to bring these locations to your attention and request the appropriate maintenance as required of these locations,” wrote Mayor Bob McCaslin to Steve Lawrence, District 9 engineer for the highway department.

In a letter from the state highway department to the city in March, the department said its policy only covers striping and maintaining crosswalks in school zones. The department review found the crosswalks in school zones to be in good condition, the letter said.

Lawrence said on Friday the state highway department receives numerous requests for crosswalks around the state and can’t afford to accommodate all of them.

“If we did that, it would be a pretty substantial cost,” he said. “We did give the city a permit to put them in themselves and maintain them.”

The city opted to stripe and maintain the crosswalks at its own cost. It applied for and received a permit from the highway department for the crosswalks, said Mike Churchwell, director of transportation for the city.

“A decision was made by the mayor and staff to move forward with the maintenance of the crosswalks,” Churchwell wrote to City Council members requesting funding for the unbudgeted project.

The push to make streets safer for pedestrians included 11 crosswalks around the city. Several of the crosswalks were new, while others already existed, but needed maintenance or extensions.

The project cost the city $24,500 and took three days to complete, Churchwell said.

Alan Ley leads Bike Bentonville, a local advocacy group for cyclist and pedistrian issues. He said he was pleased to see the city being proactive about pedestrian safety.

“I think it’s so important that Arkansas starts doing the things that keep our cyclists and pedestrians safe,” he said. “I applaud the city for going above and beyond what the state won’t do. We are once again raising the bar and showing the state what we should be doing.”

The highway department’s review of the city’s request prompted the agency to repaint several stop bars at intersections. A stop bar is the white line on the highway that indicates where vehicles should stop in front of a red light. The state has started working on the stop bars, but has not yet finished the project, Lawrence said.

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