At its March 13 study session, the Airway Heights City Council received a few updates regarding potential street improvements for the city.
One of these updates focused on safety improvements at crosswalks on Hayford Road.
At the request of council, Public Works Director Kevin Anderson said he investigated the feasibility and costs for improving the crosswalks on West Ninth and 12th avenues on Hayford Road.
One proposal from Anderson would be to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at both crosswalks. He explained that the beacons would be pedestrian activated and the lights on each sign would flash in a “zigzag” pattern, capturing a motorist’s attention.
Anderson said because the portion of Hayford Road at both crosswalks is divided into five sections, crews would have to construct a refuge island in the middle lane for each beacon. The estimated cost would be about $65,000 for each crosswalk.
“We would have to spend time to design it,” Anderson said. “This is not something you buy off the shelf.”
Anderson said if council wants to move forward with the project, then it should be added to the city’s six-year transportation improvement plan. Adding the project to the plan would allow staff to apply for grant funding. Airway Heights is expected to examine and vote on the plan later this year.
“There are a number of (proposed improvement) projects, and personally, I would say add this one and fit it into the plan,” Anderson said. “It might become a top priority.”
Council forwarded an agreement with Avista and the state Transportation Improvement Board to its March 20 meeting.
Anderson informed council the city had received $16,650 from the TIB’s Relight Washington Program. According to the board’s website, the program’s goal is to lower street light costs by helping cities convert to more energy efficient Light Emitting Diode street lamps.
Anderson told council there would be no match required from the city and Avista would change out the old streetlamps and replace them with LED ones.
When asked what percentage of the city’s streets lights would be converted, Anderson estimated about “two-thirds,” with most of the work happening on U.S. Highway 2.
“From what I’ve been told, they’ve already started the project,” he added.
Anderson also informed council the city was awarded a $250,000 Complete Streets grant from the TIB. In January, the board nominated Airway Heights for the award, which is given to a municipality or county that has adopted a Complete Streets ordinance. Council adopted this kind of ordinance as a component of the Airway Heights municipal code in 2010.
Anderson said $200,000 of the grant would be used to redo curb ramps to meet ADA standards, while the other $50,000 would go toward drafting a complete streets plan.
“We’re hoping to get this project done this summer, but we can’t seek approval from council until the TIB approves the design plan,” Anderson said.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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