FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — In November, two pedestrian fatalities occurred along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (MLK), and Bob Stafford, who's the Ward 1 city council member, is on the transportation committee and said he recognizes the increased traffic dangers.
"We're in a city, we have people that need to commute on foot and bike, and they have the right to do so and they should be able to do so safely," Stafford said. "We need better crossings, more control crossings are die is going to widen the slip lanes from the frontage road to westbound on MLK, and also put in a slip lane eastbound to the on-ramp 49," Stafford explained.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) said the transportation committee submitted the 11 requests for safety improvements back in November 2022 but ARDOT gave the organization the green light in February 2023. One of the original requests was denied due to language, but ARDOT offered a solution to it in a different way and approved that request.
"Anytime we're talking about, you know, pedestrian safety in light of fatalities that have happened there, by all means, we're going to work with the area, the mayor, the county— if that's the case— to do whatever we can," said Public Information Officer of ARDOT Dave Parker.
Parker also said that the improvement project is already in the works and is expected to start in summer 2024. The project will include a pedestrian underpass, a shared-use path, painted crosswalks, and more. "Painted crosswalks at the crossing intersections will have rectangular rapid flashing beacons at those locations so that when the crosswalk is being used, the beacons will go off and beyond as well to give motorists even more alert that there are pedestrians and cyclists there," Parker said.
The ARDOT public information officer went on to point out that sometimes just a crosswalk can give people walking or cyclists a false sense of security.
The transportation committee said they originally asked about a pedestrian tunnel at Shiloh and MLK Blvd. which proved to be feasible, but they're no longer pursuing the option but instead adding lighting along MLK to reduce dark spots between the interchange.
Public Works Director Chris Brown said that since the recent deaths on MLK, the city has been discussing with the transportation committee more safety measures to be implemented. "These could include restrictions of right turns on red at the interchange, additional striping and signage, and signal timing changes to improve bike and pedestrian safety."
ARDOT said the overall estimated cost for the project sits at $49.8 million. "The actual cost of the project will be submitted by CM-GC once we have reached 100% plans. However, the city is responsible for an initial amount of the $1.5 million of project funding based on the addition of the 15th Street overpass and roundabouts. The addition of various shared uses paths with greenspace also includes estimated costs of approximately $300,000— that amount is contingent on execution of a formal partnering agreement, which is being handled by ARDOT LPA and has not been finalized," Parker said.
The transportation committee and ARDOT are in agreement that safety comes first for everyone, whether it's cyclists, pedestrians, or drivers.
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