Title
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Programs
Description
This report provides consolidated information on the Street Transportation Department's pedestrian safety improvements implemented through the coordinated efforts of its pedestrian and bicycle safety programs as requested by the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee at the Nov. 4, 2020 subcommittee meeting.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
To address pedestrian fatalities in Phoenix, the City Manager’s Office created the Pedestrian Safety Task Force in 2018. The Street Transportation Department's (Streets) Office of Pedestrian Safety leads and participates in the interdepartmental Pedestrian Safety Task Force, which includes representatives of the Street Transportation and Police departments, the Communications Office, and the City Manager's Office. The Office of Pedestrian Safety has continued to seek funding for pedestrian safety related grant opportunities, provide increased educational outreach to neighborhood groups and residents, collect data on existing pedestrian safety infrastructure, increase collaboration with outside agencies, and prioritize capital improvement projects with an emphasis on pedestrian safety.
Streets was recently successful in securing a federal Better Utilizing Infrastructure Leveraging Development (BUILD) Grant for roadway safety improvements along 35th Avenue between Interstate 10 and Camelback Road. This stretch has been identified as a pedestrian safety ‘hot spot’ where a higher number of pedestrian-related collisions and injuries have occurred in recent years. Project improvements will include additional street lighting, signalized mid-block crossings and raised medians, which will contribute to overall safety, especially for pedestrians.
In addition to the Office of Pedestrian Safety program, Streets implemented the Active Transportation Program, which leverages coordination with the Accelerated Pavement Maintenance Program (APMP) to add bike lanes where feasible through lane narrowing or to implement bicycle safety improvements such as bike lane buffers and protection.
The Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation subcommittee was previously provided with three separate reports regarding the Streets pedestrian and bicycle safety programs: the Pedestrian Safety Program Update (Attachment A) on Nov. 4, 2020, the BUILD 2020 Grant Award (Attachment B) on Nov. 4, 2020, and the Active Transportation Program Update (Attachment C) on Oct. 7, 2020.
At the Nov. 4, 2020 subcommittee meeting, Streets was asked to provide comprehensive information about where pedestrian safety improvements have been implemented through the coordinated efforts of its pedestrian and bicycle safety programs.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and Street Transportation Department.