Metro Phoenix Transit/Transportation Developments

[biggus diggus]

Sal is a major player in the game of keeping Phoenix from being progressive.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Prestige Worldwide

This was coming for awhile. Council approved a fluffy ambitious bike master plan, but can't handle the fire when it comes time to implement, especially when vehicle travel lanes are removed. This is why 3rd St has moved at a glacial pace. I think that one will ultimately happen (because it should have decent usage), but the rest won't. The bike master plan isn't worth the paper it's written on. Interests of property owners, auto-oriented businesses and the driving public will continue to steamroll active transportation improvements if they are in conflict.

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

Sal is a major player in the game of keeping Phoenix from being progressive.

Speaking of Sal, one of the least controversial projects should be in his district: improving the Arizona Canal path from 24th Street to the Scottsdale border. The master plan doesn't rank this project high, but with the city nixing so many street bike lane projects, it would be somewhat of a consolation if this could happen sooner.

[biggus diggus]

Part of the reason the canal path isn't improved is they built the fancy path when they did the ACDC in the early 1990s. The ACDC goes underground at 24th and stays there until the opening at about 40th and Stanford.

SRP has not been keen on using more of their right of way for recreation. Most cyclists exit the canal into the Arizona Biltmore loop and most joggers will continue on the very nice dirt path that extends all the way to 40th from the Arizona Biltmore loop.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Does anyone know what's going on with 3rd Ave between Mcdowell and I-10? I drove through there yesterday and it appears they are placing medians in that stretch.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

Part of the reason the canal path isn't improved is they built the fancy path when they did the ACDC in the early 1990s. The ACDC goes underground at 24th and stays there until the opening at about 40th and Stanford.

SRP has not been keen on using more of their right of way for recreation. Most cyclists exit the canal into the Arizona Biltmore loop and most joggers will continue on the very nice dirt path that extends all the way to 40th from the Arizona Biltmore loop.

I often do that, but it's become frustrating to see how nice the Arizona Canal path is east of 60th Street, where it crosses into Scottsdale. East of that border, it's paved and illuminated with signalized crossings at major intersections. Along the dirt path on the Phoenix side, there's no lighting, and crossing 44th Street is challenging.

[biggus diggus]

Crossing 44th is always weird. You can use the stop light at Campbell if it's rush hour.

[Salty]

https://www.phoenix.gov/streets/3rdand5thavenues

Crested, here’s some info on that 3rd ave project. May be medians or a protected bike lane.

[biggus diggus]

"Two-way cycle track"

These scare me, I don't like feeling locked in when I'm on a bike. Need the freedom to be able to get away from a hazard if need be.

[pbenjamin]

3rd and 5th Aves north of Roosevelt will be one lane one way. The debate about extending that through Willo to Thomas is ongoing. The only things that are controversial are

• on 3rd two way cycle track vs shared bike/pedestrian path
• completing sidewalks on 5th between Encanto and Thomas

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by Salty

https://www.phoenix.gov/streets/3rdand5thavenues

Crested, here’s some info on that 3rd ave project. May be medians or a protected bike lane.

Thanks for the info. What got me was the space is a full car lane wide. Protected bike lanes through here would be nice. I often ride my bike to Downtown during lunch hour and take 3rd and 5th Ave's. Glad to se this happening

Also, agree on the comments of the Phoenix portion of the AZ Canal. I have long since quit riding past AZ Falls because it gets just dangerous crossing some of the roads. 44th always made me cringe.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

That's very disappointing to me, I had put that project in the back of my mind thinking it was a done deal. It was going to help revitalize VB.

Some people just don't get it! This is a car centric city and always will be. This is real life, not Sim City!

[biggus diggus]

So you believe talking about this street plan, which was largely a done deal, is the same as talking about downtown Phoenix getting a vegas-scale hotel? C'mon. You're stretching for the sake of an argument and I think you know it.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Some people just don't get it! This is a car centric city and always will be. This is real life, not Sim City!

It's this mentality, repeated over and over in cliched phrases, that keeps things that way. Expect more, and we may get more. Expect the same, and that's all we'll ever get.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

It's this mentality, repeated over and over in cliched phrases, that keeps things that way. Expect more, and we may get more. Expect the same, and that's all we'll ever get.

100% agree. And which is why we all want more, including the Vegas version of the hotel here in Phoenix. This comment was said in jest to respond to biggus and his hypocritical and condescending tone in responses to other posters, including myself, of wanting more for our beautiful city.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

100% agree. And which is why we all want more, including the Vegas version of the hotel here in Phoenix. This comment was said in jest to respond to biggus and his hypocritical and condescending tone in responses to other posters, including myself, of wanting more for our beautiful city.

Sorry for missing the joke. I guess I'm triggered from fighting this battle too many times with people who aren't kidding.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Sorry for missing the joke. I guess I'm triggered from fighting this battle too many times with people who aren't kidding.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Well, if it's any consolation, the entire section of Central in-between Cityscape has been completely graded to about 3' deep in preparation for the future LRT line/station. This gives me hope that we are at least making progress. Small steps I guess?

[combusean]

I think it's not about expectations it's about demand. It almost seems like the Council and by definition the residents have gotten more complacent--somebody said it seemed only Kate Gallego cared about urban issues and that's really not enough. Nowakowski has always been a talking head and then you have the sticks in the mud like DiCiccio and Waring. Finally, the unholy alliances between the fauxgressives and the far right seems to be a new thing lately--both are interested in maintaining the status quo because anything to improve the sorry state of affairs is seen as gentrification on one hand and socialism on the other.

And Streets will always be Streets. I can't find anything about the rejection for Van Buren, which is its own problem--Phoenix is awful when it comes to open data.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by combusean

I think it's not about expectations it's about demand. It almost seems like the Council and by definition the residents have gotten more complacent--somebody said it seemed only Kate Gallego cared about urban issues and that's really not enough. Nowakowski has always been a talking head and then you have the sticks in the mud like DiCiccio and Waring. Finally, the unholy alliances between the fauxgressives and the far right seems to be a new thing lately--both are interested in maintaining the status quo because anything to improve the sorry state of affairs is seen as gentrification on one hand and socialism on the other.

And Streets will always be Streets. I can't find anything about the rejection for Van Buren, which is its own problem--Phoenix is awful when it comes to open data.

Nowakowski is in his final months of his final term. There's a candidate to replace him, Yassamin Ansari, who seems to have an agenda of urban priorities. I'd like to think she's the front runner, but I think I may be influenced by the urbanist bubble I live in. She may be the leading candidate in the downtown and historic district portions of District 7, but much more of the district lies in South Phoenix and Laveen, which have different priorities. That tension between urban and suburban parts of the city is also felt in District 8, explaining why Carlos Garcia sometimes finds himself on the same side as Waring and DiCiccio on issues of pedestrian safety and urban vitality. As you suggest, council members at both ends of the political spectrum are fighting the same bogeyman, even if the progressives call it gentrification and the conservatives call it socialism.

Edit: You're right about the lack of data. Here are few Facebook comments I found about the community opposition:

The plan was rejected because every neighborhood organization along it overwhelmingly rejected it. At the meeting I participated in I was the only one to speak in favor of the plan. Ironically, they rejected it because they fear traffic and crime.


The one I attended had Booker T and Eastlake iirc. They were very adamantly against it sadly. I was pretty much attacked for being in favor.

[ASU Diablo]

Some positive momentum after the disappointing Van Buren news.

The city is planning to put out advertising for contractors in the next few weeks and begin construction in the spring, Ruark said Thursday. The project would take about nine to 12 months, wrapping up either at the end of 2021 or in early 2022.

https://downtowndevil.com/pedestrian-bicycle-safety-upgrades-could-be-coming-to-3rd-street-by-2022/

Also, looks like diagonal cross-walks getting installed at 1st/3rd Streets and Taylor. Pretty cool

https://twitter.com/trevorhuxham/status/1318000699427319808?s=12