Property owners soon will be able to decide whether their desire to get streetlights installed along South Arlington Road matches their willingness to pay for a portion of the project and a monthly fee to keep the lamps lighted.This week, Coventry Township officials, who have been instrumental in drafting the paperwork to get the project rolling, sent the Arlington Neighborhood Association revised documents that put the initiative directly into property owners’ hands.At least 51 percent of the people who own land along the busy corridor must signal their agreement to pay their portion of the project by signing the petitions, Bruce Killian, Springfield Township trustee, said Thursday.“At the end of the day, it will be up to the [residential] property owners to decide, not necessarily the business owners there,” he said.The association rejected earlier petitions because the northern boundary of the lighting district ended at Swartz Road, leaving about 500 feet of the area in the dark, said Peggy Reed, spokeswoman for the association.“From all indications, the majority of property owners want this to happen. That’s why I’ve stayed with [the project] this long,” she said.The corridor, which runs on both sides of South Arlington from the Akron city limits to the north to Killian Road on the south, is bordered by Coventry Township on the west and Springfield Township on the east. There are only six streetlights along the busy, 1.1-mile stretch of roadway, Reed said.Coventry Township Fiscal Officer Joni Murgatroyd, who became involved in the project in March, and other officials have gone above and beyond their duties in helping the association get to this point, Killian said.“Usually, it’s up to the lighting district to prepare the petitions,” he said.The request is unusual because it is a neighborhood rather than a community asking for the streetlights. The fact that the neighborhood is made up of different communities makes it even more complicated, officials have said.Coventry officials prepared the petitions, compiled the list of property owners along the west side of the road and were able to get Springfield and Akron to join in helping alleviate the financial burden on individual property owners.Each of the three communities is expected to pay 25 percent of the cost, using Joint Economic Development funds. The final agreement, which will need formal approval by Akron and both townships, stipulates that each community would pay about $6,256.Property owners must agree to share the remaining 25 percent to be assessed over three years.Springfield has already identified property owners on its side of Arlington Road and has provided the names to the association, Killian said.Township trustees are expected to act on the petitions at their meeting Thursday, Springfield trustee Dean Young said.Young said he has asked attorney Celeste DeHoff, who represents the township, whether the petition language Coventry provided will work for Springfield.“From her response, the petitions meet with her approval,” Young said.He said trustees discussed the issue at a work session Thursday.Petitions should be available for property owners to sign at the Sept. 12 neighborhood association meeting at the Arlington Church of the Nazarene, Young said.Businesses and residents along the dark corridor — home to diverse buildings that house churches as well as Internet cafes — believe crime can be reduced in the area with better lighting. They began lobbying elected officials to get the lights shortly after the group formed in 2007 as a way to help protect the neighborhood.Since Jan. 1, there have been 11 burglaries and 35 thefts on the Coventry side of the road, patrolled by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, according to county statistics.Springfield police report that since Jan. 1, there have been two burglaries, and 18 theft-related offenses on the east side of the road.Reed said she is relieved that business owners and residents might finally get the streetlights they have been seeking.“I just want to say thanks to everybody who has helped make it a reality,” she said.Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.