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New bike lanes running along Grand Avenue from Seventh Avenue to 15th Avenue were installed in 2013. (Photo: Lauren Potter)
Preliminary plans for the Third Street Improvement Project could reduce traffic lanes from five to three and add buffered bike lanes. (Rendering: City of Phoenix)
Repaving Oak Street and adding bike lanes could enhance the Coronado neighborhood. (Photo: City of Phoenix)
Running east-west, the Oak Street Improvement Project will tie into Third Street, which links with Roosevelt and First streets, and the rest of downtown.
It basically provides a walkable, bikable corridor through the Coronado neighborhood (and areas east of that), in addition to easier, safer passage across major intersections like Seventh and 16th streets.
According to Melnychenko, the Oak Street improvements are a great example of how the city is creating one big bicycle network, while trying to keep motorists, residents and pedestrians happy.
“Everything we do with the streets is a balancing act because we have commuters, bicyclists, public transit — and we need to balance the use of the street,” he said. “We have go about it incrementally because it impacts a lot of people.”
Construction on the Oak Street bike lanes is set to begin in 2019, and will eventually tie into the Grand Canalscape near 24th Street.
So while many of these projects aren’t connected yet, they eventually will be.
For instance, there’s a bike lane gap between Central and Seventh avenues along Roosevelt Street — but that’s about to change. The street was recently redone east of Central Avenue (along Roosevelt Row), and now it’s the west side’s turn.
In addition to repaving and restriping Roosevelt Street, Third and Fifth avenues will also get bike lane makeovers, possibly as far north as Thomas Road. As part of the lengthy pre-design process, which concluded in December 2016, key stakeholders provided input, followed by a three-day design charrette.
Because of the all the new development happening in that area and connection to downtown neighborhoods like Roosevelt and Willo, a lot of community members attended the discussions.
UPP was one of the groups present, pushing for cycle tracks on both Third and Fifth Avenues, in addition to two-way traffic south of Roosevelt.
“When you think about all the new residential that’s happening, there’s a reason why these people want to move downtown,” Peters said. “They want that lifestyle and that includes being able to walk to places, being able to bike to places.”
Slowing down traffic along Van Buren Street and adding bike lanes could make it easier for cyclists and pedestrians in the Garfield neighborhood. (Rendering: City of Phoenix)
Using the existing roadway and curbing, a restriping project will also affect Washington and Jefferson streets — adding bike lanes to the gap between Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street.
Lanes currently exist just outside the “Sevens” going west toward the Woodland neighborhood, and east toward Eastlake Park. This would connect cyclists from those neighborhoods to the downtown business district, at no detriment to vehicle traffic.
“In a tight urban area, bikes get a lot of people around and cause no congestion,” Klocke said. “Bike lanes are an important quality-of-life amenity for those who enjoy it, but also a critical infrastructure piece for those who don’t have a car.”
Many of the projects impacting downtown neighborhoods are still open for public comment. For more information on how to get involved or attend a meeting, check the City of Phoenix website.