Flagstaff staff present five‑year crash report; HSIP lighting project proposed for Route 66/US‑89 corridor

City transportation staff presented a five‑year crash report to the Flagstaff Transportation Commission and outlined safety projects they are pursuing with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

Transportation staff said the report, based on Arizona Crash Information System data, found 8,107 crashes in Flagstaff from 2020–2024, including 33 fatalities and 147 serious injuries. "So throughout the past 5 years, there were 8,107 total crashes, with 33 of them being, having a fatality and 147 of them having serious injuries," transportation technician Trevion Booker told the commission.

The report’s high‑injury network and crash‑rate studies singled out stretches of Route 66 and Highway 89, the Milton/Riordan/Plaza area, and long portions of Butler Avenue as recurring locations for severe incidents and pedestrian crashes. "Route 66 and Highway 89 ... they have a significant history of severe incidents," transportation planner Chris Fair said during the presentation.

Using that evidence, staff said they applied for a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant routed through ADOT to install 13 missing streetlights along a Route 66/US‑89 corridor between Country Club and Marketplace Drive and to add retroreflective backplates at signalized intersections to increase signal conspicuity. David Lemke, a city presenter, said the proposed combination of lights and backplates "is actually a direct, relationship where the more fatalities you have, the more funding you get," and estimated the measures, once installed, could reduce the kinds of serious and fatal crashes historically seen at that location by about 25 percent.

Commissioners asked technical questions about the project. Staff clarified the HSIP funding would install street lights, not new traffic signals. Lemke estimated installing the 13 lights could cost about $2,100,000, citing right‑of‑way work, conduit installation and traffic control on a high‑volume arterial as major cost drivers; a commissioner and other staff noted the price appeared high and pointed to right‑of‑way complexity as the primary reason.

Staff said ADOT scoped the project and that the city is completing the HSIP eligibility packet; ADOT will consider the project at its state transportation review board in June. Lemke said ADOT’s five‑year construction program makes immediate construction unlikely and estimated the earliest likely construction year as 2029, with possible movement to 2028 if schedules shift.

Staff also described a separate, locally funded project for a deficient intersection on Highway 89 (referenced in the presentation) that had a left‑turn fatality; that project has design work complete and is being prepared for bid for construction next year.

The commission was told ADOT’s road safety assessment (RSA) for the Route 66/US‑89 corridor is nearly complete and will provide more detailed, site‑specific mitigation recommendations. Staff said they plan to make more crash data publicly accessible in future updates using a GIS database platform so stakeholders can run queries by severity, fatalities and other filters.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the prior meeting minutes with a typographical correction (replacing the word recorded as "log" with "long"). The minutes approval was made as a motion, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will complete the HSIP eligibility packet for ADOT, expect the RSA report from ADOT soon, and await ADOT’s June consideration; construction timing will follow ADOT’s five‑year program if funded.