Kenai completes streetlight assessment, eyes $1.9M federal grant

School bus stops across Kenai lack safe lighting levels during dark winter months, according to an assessment presented to the City Council May 20.

Brian Gaze, CEO of Avari Consulting, said most school bus stops do not meet recommended illumination levels. Students access stops in darkness for much of the school year, creating a safety concern.

The city is now pursuing a $1.9 million federal grant to address lighting gaps and other safety improvements along two key corridors.

City Manager Terry Eubank said Planning Director Kevin Butner submitted the grant application this week to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets for All program. The grant would fund improvements to Lawton Drive and Tinker Lane, including widening bike paths from 3 feet to 5 feet, making them ADA accessible, and upgrading street lighting.

The application builds on a Safe Streets for All planning process the city participated in with the Kenai Peninsula Borough. That process identified the Lawton-Tinker corridor as needing improvement. The streetlight assessment strengthens the grant application by documenting specific lighting deficiencies, Eubank said.

The grant deadline is next week. If awarded, the city would begin work on the corridor improvements later this year.

Assessment findings

The assessment covered more than 600 streetlights across the city. About 90 percent of Kenai's streetlights are LED but are nearing the end of their useful life, Gaze said. The lights show flicker, color drift, and electrical issues.

Three entities own the lights: the city owns 266, Homer Electric Association and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities own the rest. The fragmented ownership has produced inconsistent standards and maintenance practices across the city, Gaze said.

The city will receive a final assessment report and a geodatabase of all streetlight locations for long-term asset management.