Edmonds awarded $700,000 HSIP lighting grant; city releases streetlight inventory and priority study

The City of Edmonds on Jan. 21 reported a $700,000 federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) award to install targeted street lighting in areas with nighttime crash history and poor illumination, and staff presented a new citywide streetlight study inventory and priority list produced by Transpo Group.

Rob English (Public Works/engineering staff) credited Bertrand (transportation staff) for the successful HSIP application and said the $700,000 award will fund design and construction of lighting improvements at an initial five locations; staff said no local match is required. The five locations cited in the presentation are: State Route 524 at Ninth Avenue; a location listed as “80 Fourth and 236” in the staff map; Walnut and Seventh Avenue; Highway 99 at 216th (described in the presentation as “2 Sixteenth”); and a segment near 76 on the Interurban Trail. Staff said the HSIP award funds are scalable and, during design, additional locations may be added if budget permits.

Bertrand explained the HSIP selection focused on nighttime fatal or serious-injury collision history and said staff mined accident data for nighttime crashes between February 2018 and February 2022 to identify candidate locations. He said the award is intended to address serious nighttime collisions and that “there was no fatal collisions during that time frame at any of those intersects, but there was a couple of serious” crashes in locations included in the grant application.

Separately, Transpo Group’s streetlight study inventoryed fixtures across the city: staff reported there are 2,553 PUD-owned luminaires within city limits and almost 200 city-owned streetlights. The study used a high-level GIS analysis (not ground-level light-meter readings) to identify gaps and then scored locations using criteria that included pedestrian activity generators (schools, parks, transit, commercial areas), street classification, nighttime accident history and gap length. Staff presented priority lists for intersections, mid-block crossings and street segments; the highest intersection scores reached 70 out of a maximum 80 in the study’s ranking system.

Staff said the inventory and prioritization will be maintained in the city’s GIS so maintenance and capital planning can reference it; the lighting data also fed the HSIP application. Next steps include using the lighting study and an upcoming safety action plan to pursue future capital grant opportunities and additional lighting projects. Staff requested authorization to begin design for the HSIP-funded locations and to submit a first-quarter budget amendment so the award and any design work can be programmed in the city budget.

Committee members asked about the mix of pole-mounted street lighting and lower, pedestrian-scale fixtures, whether the grant-funded lights would illuminate sidewalks as well as streets, and whether the city has a dark-sky or shielding policy. Staff noted the city already maintains standards that lean toward downward-directed, shielded lighting and said some existing PUD poles could accept an arm and luminaire if the city chooses that approach rather than installing new city-owned poles.

Members also suggested additional dark or poorly lit stretches for staff to consider in future rounds (for example, sections of the Interurban Trail and business corridors where nighttime pedestrian activity is concentrated). Staff said the application originally listed about 15 candidate locations and the HSIP could only fund the top five; staff will distribute the full candidate list to the council.

The committee recommended placing the HSIP authorization and the streetlight study on consent/receive-for-filing so the council can review the award, the study results and the planned next steps.

Ending: Staff will pursue design for the HSIP-funded locations, maintain the new streetlight inventory in GIS, distribute the full list of candidate locations to the council and explore additional grant opportunities tied to the city’s safety action plan.