Whose traffic light is it?

Bella Vista, Bentonville, state agency discuss light at County Road 40

Officials from Bentonville, Bella Vista, Benton County and the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department gathered Dec. 14 in Bella Vista City Hall to discuss the increasingly-infamous traffic light at Benton County Road 40 and U.S. highway 71.

“We’ve had many discussions about this blessed light,” Bella Vista Mayor Peter Christie said.

While the mix of officials did not generate an official memorandum of understanding during this meeting, department heads and legal representatives from each entity were asked to hammer out the exact details for such a memorandum.

This conversation was the latest result, he said, after the Bella Vista City Council discussed a resolution to spend roughly $21,000 to have a traffic study performed, only to realize that nobody is actually clear on who actually has what responsibilities on that light.

The study, he said, would be to help adjust the light’s timing and determine the ideal solutions to ease the flow of traffic, an estimated 40,000 vehicle trips each day through the intersection.

This meeting, he said, was intended to at least start generating a memorandum of understanding that would lay out what specific responsibilities each party has.

“We are fully prepared to take this under our wing as part of the MOU on the timing of the light,” Christie said.

Bella Vista controlling the timing, he said, would allow the city to synchronize it with the lights at Mercy Way and Trafalgar Road, which would make for more efficient traffic flow.

This will not wholly solve the congestion issues, he said, and it would take a far larger endeavor to do so.

“It’s not the silver bullet,” Christie said. “But we’ve got to prepare for the future and start somewhere.”

The light itself is on county land, he said, but the control box sits in Bella Vista. Moreover, documentation shows the AHTD issued a license to Bentonville, meaning Bentonville is responsible for the light’s care.

Michelle Davenport, an attorney with the AHTD, said the permit dictates what entity is in charge of operations and main- tenance of a traffic light.

Having the control box, she said, does put Bella Vista in a position to take on the traffic signal, and typically the city with the control box is the city that takes care of the light.

“We view it as a package. That is how these signals are installed,” she said. “That’s how the permit is issued and that’s how they are administered. That’s why we have a unique situation here.”

However, she said, because Bentonville already has a permit for the signal, which does not

expire, Bentonville has responsibility now. In order to shift that responsibility to Bella Vista, she said, the department would need to issue a new permit.

That permit, she said, could have some documentation attached to split up the responsibilities.

Alderman and former mayor Frank Anderson said he is concerned about potential issues with the light, largely because Bella Vista does not have the tools or expertise to maintain it. The other lights, he

said, are maintained by contractors who have to come from out of the area if anything goes wrong.

“Doing it by contract, if a light goes out and a contractor’s not here, it doesn’t happen right away always,” Anderson said. “It would be very difficult at Benton County 40 to have the light out three days.”

Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said he wasn’t enthused at the prospect of maintaining a light outside the city of Bentonville. The nearest light in his city, he said, is the light at Tiger Boulevard and Walton Boulevard.

“We want to work with you. But this light is tied in

with your other two lights,” McCaslin said. “Hopefully we can find something, but we don’t have a great appetite for maintaining this light in our system.”

While Bentonville does lack the capacity to stand a new light pole or perform any other major overhaul, he said, he’d be willing to consider helping with the light’s basic maintenance — but he’d like to see a sunset on such an agreement. Making it indefinite, he said, would not be in Bentonville’s best interests, and he believes Bella Vista needs to continue to grow.

“If we need to come replace a bulb for Northwest Arkansas, we’ll go do that,” McCaslin said. “Replacing

a signal box, a mast, an arm, no. You’re a real city now. It’s not about the expense, it’s about you stepping up and doing what’s best for your city.”