Trail crossing improvements approved to increase safety

BENTONVILLE — The city’s trail system near the Sam’s Club home office should become a bit safer because of plans to install pedestrian crossings at three locations where the trail crosses a road.

A pedestrian beacon and a trail crossing will be installed on Southeast Moberly Lane to provide safe access from the Moberly Trail to the Members Mark Trail, which leads to the Razorback Greenway, according to David Wright, parks and recreation director.

Two rapid flashing beacons will be installed, one on Southeast 21st Street behind Bentonville High School and one on Southeast S Street about a block southeast.

The pedestrian beacons have an arm with three lights, one yellow below two red, that extends over the street. There’s one on Rainbow Road.

The rapid flashing beacons are a single pole that include a pedestrian walking sign and an arrow pointing toward the crosswalk.

Both types of beacons are activated by a pedestrian desiring to cross the road.

The City Council unanimously approved awarding All Service Electric’s $249,155 bid for the improvements at its meeting Tuesday.

The money is part of a $2.1 million Walton Family Foundation grant the council accepted in December 2017. The foundation gave Rogers $1 million at the same time.

Both cities had sections of trail built and later incorporated into the 37-mile greenway, which opened in 2015.

The grant money was to bring older trail sections up to the standards of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Erin Rushing, executive director of NWA Trailblazers, said when Bentonville accepted its grant.

The Trailblazers is a nonprofit group developing cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

“Although the grant was primarily directed at the Razorback Greenway, it did include a few improvements just off the greenway,” Wright wrote in a memo to council members.

Other projects the grant paid for include replacing old bridges and fences, extending safety handrails, painting pedestrian tunnels, a new parking lot on Northeast A Street and a future parking lot at Bella Vista Lake.

All Service Electric was the only eligible bid submitted before the Feb. 21 deadline, according to meeting documents.

The improvements could begin mid-April with anticipation of being completed midsummer, according to Wright.

Chris Sooter, council chairman and member of the Parks Advisory Board, gave a brief report on the Parks and Recreation Department’s 2018 highlights.

There were more than 415,000 participants in the department’s organized programming last year. The department brought in $3.97 million in revenue. An estimated 4 million people used the park system, he said.

“The parks usage and revenue is at an all time high,” Sooter said.