Discussion
Note: Vice Mayor O'Brien joined the voting body.
Stacey Champion as the petitioner spoke in support.
Christopher Collins spoke in support.
Mayor Gallego mentioned Lidia Dickinson was available to speak in support if necessary.
Teresa Dickinson spoke in support.
Camille Hartmetz spoke in support.
Dave Jenkins spoke in support.
Patrick Kelley, president of the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association spoke in support.
Tabitha Myers spoke in support.
Andrew Parker, president of the Whitton District Neighborhood Association spoke in support.
Steve Procaccini spoke in support.
Maggie Riley spoke in support.
David Riley spoke in support.
Haley Ritter spoke in support.
William Sandweg spoke in support.
Mayor Gallego said Annette Sexton-Ruiz left but was in support of the petition.
Erik Tedhams spoke in support.
Jeremy Thacker spoke in support.
Jamie Trufin spoke in support.
John Demcko spoke in support.
Mayor Gallego said AJ Marsden left but was neutral.
Mayor Gallego said Stephen Deisezun did not wish to speak but was in support.
Jason Adams spoke in support.
Ralph Borkman spoke in support.
John Demcko spoke in support.
Rockne Hanish spoke in support.
Nicole Rodriguez spoke in support.
Derek Tomich spoke in support.
Lucas Vargas spoke in support.
Robert Warnicke spoke in support.
Mayor Gallego said Dianne Barker was in support.
Mark Howard spoke in support.
Ed Hermes, president of the Carnation Neighborhood Association spoke in support.
Kristin Heggli spoke in support.
Vicki Guffey spoke in support.
Aimee Esposito spoke in support.
Dave Tapley spoke in support.
Layal Rabat spoke in support.
Gina Thomas spoke in support.
Abbey Tomich spoke in support.
Councilwoman Stark discussed driving in the reverse lanes, and suggested she was concerned the reverse lanes would push traffic towards 15th Avenue and 12th Street as well as Central Avenue and 3rd Street where there are bike lanes. She stated most of the residents in Council District 3 supported the reverse lanes, and said there needed to be more data on the reverse lanes. She talked about a citizen group being put together in 2007 that found there were not many head on collisions and supported traffic. She mentioned drivers were speeding throughout Phoenix, and added she would never support removing reverse lanes until more accurate data is presented.
Councilman Robinson discussed the study on this subject, and expressed appreciation for the passion shown during this meeting because this is important to many people. He gave examples highlighted by those who spoke on driving in the reverse lanes, and commented he had personally seen bad driving while serving as a police officer. He stated residents in Council District 6 were not in favor of changing the reverse lanes because of what it would do to their neighborhoods by adding more traffic. He requested a further study on these reverse lanes.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington mentioned Council District 8 did not have the reverse lanes, but she did have question on them. She asked about the study completed in 2021 that had recommendations as a result of it, and she wondered what the status of those improvements were and where they are in the process.
Street Transportation Director Brandy Kelso said the 2021 study, based on data from 2018 did make recommendations for increased signage, fiber and other improvements. She said the City had done some of those improvements, and noted there was funding in Propositition 479 and other grants for 7th Avenue and 7th Street.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington stated the key thing missing was a firm timeline, for the community to expect when these revisions would be implemented, and said this petition would elevate this issue to Council to do something. She commented there was hesitation to move this to a subcommittee meeting to complete a study because action had not been taken after previous studies.
Ms. Kelso said the City had not received funding yet from Proposition 479, and noted the first set of money to be received would be dedicated to the Indian School Road revisioning and 7th Avenue and 7th Street would come after that.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington questioned what the sequence would look like of when those projects would be completed.
Ms. Kelso responded with Proposition 479, it would put this outside of the five-year time frame. She commented work through grants and other funding sources could move those items after the Indian School Road project.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked if there was any updated data from 2021 that would indicate whether or not the accident history was greater in the reverse lanes versus other streets without reverse lanes.
Ms. Kelso answered the 2021 study noted the five intersections that were part of the top 100 in traffic accidents, and added only three of those were now included in that top 100 so the City did see an improvement there. She talked about the comprehensive study mentioned by Councilwoman Stark, and said the 2021 study did not look at the type of crashes and other details.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington requested a time frame for this comprehensive study, and what that would take.
Ms. Kelso replied a scope of work was already in progress and was being fine-tuned, and confirmed the plan was to have a consultant on board by September 1st with options back to the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee by Fall 2026.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked when would implementation time be, and commented she felt the frustration from those who spoke earlier.
Ms. Kelso stated those recommendations would help the City form the budget and timeline for implementation, and noted different options for reverse lanes or not using them would have different timelines.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington mentioned the staff recommendation from the Council report, and asked if this comprehensive study allow for more stakeholder input on the scope of the plan.
Ms. Kelso responded yes, and added Councilwoman Pastor might have more to say on that part of the study. She talked about outreach to businesses and the community in this plan.
Councilwoman Hodge Washington questioned why the City could not remove the lanes right now.
Ms. Kelso answered based on the study, there would be concerns about time through these corridors, as well as vehicles cutting through neighborhoods relative to 7th Avenue and 7th Street. She suggested there needed to be more relevant and current data to make that decision.
Councilwoman Hernandez noted Council District 7 did not have these reverse lanes, but Grand Avenue did have a big impact of traffic from them. She asked for confirmation the comprehensive study or scope of work had started to identify an updated report.
Ms. Kelso confirmed the City had drafted the scope of work to hire the consultant to perform the study.
Councilwoman Hernandez commented the 2021 study was based off of data from 2018 and was prior to significant growth in the city especially in that area. She expressed she was supportive of removing the reverse lanes, but did not want to create an unnecessary impact to the residents or businesses.
Councilwoman Pastor mentioned the reverse lanes were in three Council districts, and cited the history from her perspective with the reverse lanes. She commented she learned how to use and avoid the reverse lanes when needed, and talked about a time during 2007 where the previous councilmember advocated for removing the reverse lanes. She commented she would not make a promise to remove the reverse lanes without the support from other councilmembers. She talked about the need for the comprehensive study to look at potential growth in the corridor, and how those traffic patterns will affect the neighborhood. She mentioned there was a study done by an Arizona State University graduate that had not been signed off by an engineer, and acknowledged there was good data in that study. She stated she wanted the comprehensive study to look at the impacts of removing the reverse lanes from Missouri Avenue to McDowell Road.
Note: 43 electronic comments were submitted for Item 107, with 41 in favor and two indicating no position.