Pedestrian lights should be installed along Hwy. 89A in West Sedona next summer, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Pedestrian lights should be installed along Hwy. 89A in West Sedona next summer, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Terry Smiley, Stanley Consultants project manager contracted by ADOT, told Sedona City Council on Tuesday, June 12, the project is in the first of three phases.

The first step in the process involves defining design criteria for the system, which is what is currently underway, Smiley said.

Stanley Consultants will present a design to ADOT in the next 30 days, Smiley said.

A 2006 Sedona Pedestrian Crossing Study found the West Sedona Hwy. 89A corridor needed more lighting and additional signage to protect pedestrians at night.

“I’m very confident this won’t impact our dark skies,” Mayor Pud Colquitt said.

Since June 2005, motorists  have killed three pedestrians on Hwy. 89A in West Sedona.

Smiley said 76 light poles — 38 on each side — will be staggered 290 feet apart along the highway between Dry Creek Road and Airport Road.

“It sounds as though you’ve listened to us,” Councilman Ramon Gomez said.

Pedestrian crossing signs were placed along the corridor in August 2006 but ADOT had to wait for funding to install lights.

Federal Highway Admin-istration funds will pay for the project.

Money is available in Fiscal Year 2008-09, ADOT Northern Region Traffic Engineer Chuck Gullick said, meaning construction won’t start until after July 1, 2008.

According to Gullick, the project should be finished by late 2008 or early 2009.

During construction, Sedona motorists should expect some traffic disruption, Gullick said. One lane of traffic could be closed at times.

“There are going to be some locations where there’s equipment in the road,” Gullick said.

Driveway access may also be temporarily affected.

Pole placement depends on the configuration of the current sidewalk, Smiley said. Poles will be placed on the outside of the sidewalk directly against the street. In areas where the sidewalk meanders away from the edge of the street, the pole will be placed in the landscape area between the sidewalk and the street.

Smiley said placement of poles off of actual sidewalks reduces obstacles for pedestrians.

City Manager Eric Levitt said city staff will also look into the possibility of undergrounding communications and utility conduit in trenches dug for the poles, and the possibility of hanging banners on poles.