Streets Department makes Roosevelt traffic lane striping pilot permanent

[Source: City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department] – The City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department completed the evaluation of the Downtown East-West Bicycle Connectivity pilot project. This project included the use of temporary traffic lane striping materials to remove the two-way left-turn lane to add dedicated bicycle lanes on Roosevelt Street between 7th and 1st Avenues.

Thank you to everyone who shared input during the pilot. We received feedback from all users of the roadway. The community input was incredibly important to the evaluation of the pilot. I want to also thank Mayor Gallego and Councilman Nowakowski for their continued engagement and support as the Department conducted this project.

Based upon detailed review of the community feedback received and extensive traffic engineering analysis, I have made the decision to convert the piloted temporary traffic lane striping to permanent traffic lane striping.

Our traffic lane striping crews will be scheduling the installation of permanent striping on the sections of the street that had temporary materials. Some of this work will require partial or full street closures for a short duration.In addition to the permanent bicycle lanes, our evaluation showed that a high-visibility crosswalk is needed at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Roosevelt Street. We will work on its installation. We will also continue to evaluate the traffic signal timing along this stretch to optimize the flow of traffic.Installing and upgrading bicycle and multimodal infrastructure is a priority for the City of Phoenix. This downtown east-west bicycle lane connection is an important addition to our transportation landscape, but the work is not complete. Through our accelerated pavement maintenance program, the Street Transportation Department continues to identify opportunities to add bicycle lanes, buffered bicycle lanes, and protected bicycle lanes wherever possible.

Additionally, our new Active Transportation Program is exploring a variety of projects to protect bicycle lanes and improve active transportation in Phoenix.Thank you again for your participation and patience.

Respectfully, Kini L.E. Knudson, P.E., Director