In response to the accident that killed two people in October and the town’s outcry for a crosswalk, the Arizona Department of Transportation completed a third study of the pedestrian and traffic conditions on Arizona Highway 80 in Tombstone.

“We conducted a pedestrian safety study on State Route 80 under our highway enhancements for safety program,” said ADOT Spokeswoman Linda Ritter.  “We began gathering the field data last Monday Nov. 30 and finished this past Sunday Dec. 6.”

ADOT took additional consideration with this third safety request, broadening observation time from normal weekday business hours to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. over a seven-day period.  “(We wanted) to ensure our understanding of pedestrian movements,” she said.

While ADOT is actively taking an interest in the town’s safety concerns, both Mayor Dusty Escapule and Marshal Larry Talvy said they were disappointed with the study’s timing.

“This is very poor judgment and won’t be a fair evaluation because this is one of the slowest tourist seasons in Tombstone,” Escapule said.  

“I am a little bit frustrated that they came out at this time,” Talvy said.  “I am happy they are coming out to do this survey and are listening to our concerns but at this time they are not going to get the right stats to decide whether or not we need a crosswalk.”

Ritter declined to comment on the timing concerns voiced by Escapule and Talvy saying, “That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

The pedestrian safety study evaluated pedestrian movements, site obstructions for on street parking restrictions, street lighting conditions and posted speed limits for the possibility of any improvements, Ritter said.

“(ADOT) will also take into consideration accident history to review for any patterns,” Ritter said.

In a letter to Bill Harmon, district engineer for the ADOT’s Safford District, Escapule wrote, “The studies conducted in 2002 and 2005 were for a short period of time and didn’t accurately represent the actual number of pedestrians and vehicles on Fremont Street.”

Harmon responded positively stating, “It will be our intent to report to the City Council our findings and recommendations for short term and long term improvements warranted.”

Escapule said he spoke with Harmon during the study but Harmon did not give any details of the expected results.

“The study was done by an independent contractor,” Escapule said.  “I don’t think (Harmon) was actually present during the study.”

Harmon did not return phone calls.

ADOT plans to present its findings of the study and recommendations to Tombstone during an open City Council meeting in February, Ritter said.

Escapule was hesitant to comment on the pending study results.

“I really wouldn’t want to speculate anything,” he said.  “A crosswalk might not be the only ideal thing but also lowering the speed limit as well. I think that’s the ideal scenario for making it safer for people to cross the street.”

Talvy said he is concerned about retaliation by already angered residents if ADOT’s survey declares a crosswalk is unwarranted for the third time.

Tombstone deputies were already forced to quash  residents’ plans in November after rumors surfaced that people wanted to take matters into their own hands and paint crosswalks on the street.

“We know they have been constantly thinking about doing their own thing, but if someone got hurt crossing the street where they thought it was a crosswalk but wasn’t, the individual could find themselves in a civil or criminal lawsuit,” Talvy said.

Talvy said Tombstone’s busiest times of the year—March through September — is when a crosswalk would benefit the safety of tourists.

“Helldorado Days in October is our last busiest weekend and everything throughout the year culminates at this point,” Talvy said.  “A survey conducted during this time would have been a better representation of pedestrian data.”

Escapule agreed with Talvy saying, “It’s frustrating because I’ve been dealing with this since 2000 and I just hope that ADOT does the right thing and stands behind their statement that their No. 1 priority is safety.”

“We have already had several deaths in this one area,” Talvy said. “One death is too many regardless of what the traffic flow is throughout one particular week of the year.”