The state studied the need after a local driver struck and killed a British couple crossing the street early one evening last October. The deaths spurred town officials to ask the state yet again to put permanent markings on the street, which is also State Route 80.

Officials with the Arizona Department of Transportation reviewed traffic patterns along the street before reaching the decision.

To alleviate concerns that the town expressed about the timing of the study – conducted in the town's slowest part of the tourist season – the state said it would allow the town to place temporary crosswalks on the roadway for special events like Helldorado Days. A state permit would be needed.

The study also came with a series of suggestions to improve safety along Fremont, including better lighting, restricting parking, lowering the speed limit and widening sidewalks.

State officials said fatalities like the deaths in October are never the primary reason for a crosswalk. Traffic and speed patterns are more decisive, said Bill Harmon, ADOT pedestrian safety analyst.

"Pedestrian deaths or injuries are not part of the calculation for a crosswalk," Harmon said. "There are fatalities associated with crosswalks because people are lulled in by a false sense of security."

Chamber of Commerce President Don Taylor, a long-time advocate of a crosswalk, was not happy with the report.

"Eveyone's seen the movies and everyone wants to be Wyatt Earp dressed in black from head to toe," Taylor said. "The crosswalk may give pedestrians a false sense of security, but it also makes drivers more aware."

Town officials were not completely pleased with the state's draft report. Marshal Larry Talvy wants the state to do another study during peak tourist season and average those results with the off-season study just completed. "You need to take the good with the bad and the slow with the fast," he said.

Mayor Dusty Escapule said he would form a committee in early March to decide how to adopt ADOT recommendations.

"The city needs to be more proactive in short-term improvements," Escapule said. "We will get this thing rolling."

Escapule said the committee will have five to seven members, with one serving as a liaison to the state. He hopes to announce the membership before the next council meeting.

Some of those improvements would require stricter enforcement of parking along the highway between Fourth and Fifth streets. In the long term, the state recommends eliminating all parking along the highway and encouraging visitors to park south of the highway, thus ending the need for many people to cross the thoroughfare.

Other suggestions include a "decorate railing" along the highway that channels street crossers to particular points along the road. The state also wants street lighting upgraded to higher ADOT standards.

No matter what changes are made, accidents will still happen, said Reza Karimvanda, traffic engineer for ADOT's southern region.

"No matter what speed, signage, etc., people are going to drive however they like to drive," he said. "You cannot stop people from doing crazy things."

The British couple, Arthur Wilkinson, 81, and his wife Winifred, 75, died while crossing the highway at Fourth Street. Arthur died at the scene and his wife died shortly after at a nearby hospital.

According to Talvy, poor lighting and the absence of a crosswalk were the two major factors contributing to the accident.

The driver of the vehicle was not exceeding the posted 35 mph speed limit. The driver has not been charged.

The most recent safety study looked for patterns in-- pedestrian movements, site obstructions for on-street parking restrictions, street lighting conditions, posted speed limits and accident history, said ADOT spokeswoman Linda Ritter.

The agency had conducted two previous studies about whether to implement a crosswalk across the highway. Both times, in 2001 and 2004, the department decided a crosswalk was unnecessary.

There have been five fatalities in 10 years along the highway.

State safety suggestions

• Reduce speed limit to 30 mph
• Add street lights to increase visibility at night
• Eliminate on-street parking
• Add decorative railing to guide pedestrians to intersectins
• Narrow the roadway by moving curbs toward center of street to create sidewalks
• Post sufficient signs directing tourists to park on south side of town
• Use temporary crosswalks for special events