Although the Sedona City Council approved the installation of a traffic light and related crosswalk measures at Andante, City Manager Eric Levitt said that ADOT expected the installation of 10 street lights between Harmony and Madole to also be included along with the street light.  The timeline for implementing a complete package of safety measures, along with confusion about whether to install street lights and/or a continuous median, was one of the reasons why the council voted on June 24, 2008 to reconsider their previous 89a pedestrian safety recommendations on June 10, 2008.

From light back to dark on 89A

In a unanimous 7-0 vote, the council reversed its prior 5-2 decision to move forward with a package of short and long term recommendations.

What changed? 

According to Councilman Surber, there was not sufficient detail on the timeline for implementing the long term recommendations that included center medians, pedestrian barriers, and 10 street lights between Harmony and Madole (the council voted to install a traffic light at Andante as part of its short term recommendations).

Said Councilman Surber, "How long into the future are we looking to get a complete safety plan?" 

At issue was the council's decision to make the long term safety recommendations part of the city's Community Redevelopment Plan.  Although the redevelopment plan for 89A is one of the council's top priorities, and is expected to be completed within 18 months, Councilman Surber was not convinced, asking what "Plan B" will be if the 89A redevelopment plan is not supported by the community.

He also inquired about the source of funding for the long term safety recommendations, alluding to the loss of a $2 million federal grant that had been available for the installation of ADOT's original 76 light poles proposal.

He also wanted to know what the city's liability might be if the complete package of safety recommendations is not implemented, or not implemented quickly.

Said City Attorney Mike Goimarac, "89A is a state highway and it's the city's position any liability would rest with ADOT."  Goimarac later admitted that there could be circumstances under which the city could share liability for a pedestrian fatality on 89A.

There also seemed to be confusion among the council members over exactly what was approved.

Councilwoman Nancy Scagnelli asked what would happen if the 10 street lights weren't installed.  "Will ADOT require continuous medians or will they allow staggered medians?  Can we have a mix of lights and medians and pedestrian barriers?...It's not clear to me." (Councilwoman Scagnelli was one of the two dissenting votes at the June 10th meeting.  The other was Councilman Ramon Gomez.)

Jennifer Wesselhoff, CEO of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, spoke on behalf of West Sedona businesses saying, "Continuous center medians will impact businesses."

According to City Manager Eric Levitt, ADOT didn't think that the traffic light on Andante was going to be separated from the 10 street lights between Harmony and Madole.  Said Mr. Levitt, "There have been 3 pedestrian deaths along this 1/4 mile and it's my understanding that ADOT expected [the 10 street lights] to be approved along with the traffic light at Andante."

"At this point," said Levitt, "I don't know what ADOT will do.  It's been a year and they might just decide to move ahead with their own recommendations."  According to Mr. Levitt, State Hwy 89A, and in particular the 1/4 mile stretch between Harmony and Madole, places it among the top 5% most dangerous state highways in Arizona.

Some things are clear:  the environmental lobby doesn't want 76 light poles, the business community is concerned that a continuous center median could hurt business, and the city council needs a timeline for implementing their approved safety recommendations.

A compromise outcome might be to make the 10 street lights a short-term priority in exchange for staggered medians.  How much will that cost, and who will foot the bill? The city? 

The city council has called a special session on July 21st to decide the outcome.

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

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