Pedestrian fatalities blamed on streetscape
Advocates: Urban road designs in Ariz. unsafe
In 2017, 224 pedestrians died in Arizona — up from 197 in 2016. According to a national report, the state had the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in the nation.
During one week this past March, 10 pedestrians were killed and two others were left in critical condition in the Phoenix area, prompting the state’s top transportation official to declare a “major crisis.”
Advocates warn that the deaths will continue until streets are designed in a safer way — something Phoenix officials were supposed to commit to more than two years ago.
But a series of bureaucratic hurdles have stalled the implementation of “Complete Streets” design guidelines, according to the committee responsi-
ble for creating the standards.
“Complete Streets” is a national transportation policy that encourages street design that accommodates all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, publictransportation users, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
In an effort to circumvent city staff, the Complete Streets Advisory Board took their design guidelines directly to the council Wednesday in an attempt to force a decision on the guidelines they believe will save lives.
In 2014, the Phoenix City Council passed an ordinance creating the Complete Streets Advisory Board and directing the 11-member board to, within one year, create a set of “Complete Streets” guidelines.
The board met the deadline, finishing the guidelines and a complementary “Complete Streets Policy” for the city council’s approval in August 2015.
The council went on to approve the policy in July, but the design guidelines were were never enacted, Complete Streets Advisory Board Member Sean Sweat said.
But Sweat said that without the guidelines, the policy has no teeth and won’t accomplish anything.
The guidelines require streets be designed with slower speeds, sufficient lighting, protected bicycle lanes on high-speed roads, enhanced pedestrian safety and other design characteristics.
The guidelines largely mimic the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Street Design Guidelines, which has been endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration.
Katherine Dudzik Smith, a local architect and chairwoman of the American Institute of Architects Phoenix Metro Chapter’s advocacy committee, said Complete Streets guidelines are critical to urban design and will be even more important as Phoenix grows and more people choose alternative modes of transportation.
“As our city becomes more populated, we need to be able to address the larger population by giving them more options to be able to move around the city,” Smith said.
Sweat believes the city’s Street Transportation Department has actively worked against the advisory board, requiring the guidelines to go through other boards for approval and refusing to take them to the City Council for approval.
In a written statement, Street Transportation Department spokeswoman Monica Hernandez said, “Slowing the process is not our intention. Because of the importance of the overall complete streets initiative, we have been working with a number of stakeholders, beyond the (advisory board), to establish consensus. It is critical for the proposed guidelines to be reviewed and commented on by appropriate boards and commissions, the public and stakeholders, prior to city council action.”
Connor Descheemaker, a member of the Complete Streets Advisory Board, submitted a citizen petition earlier this month asking the council to approve the design guidelines.
Members of the advisory board hoped the petition — which the council must vote on per the city charter — will allow them to bypass city staff and appeal directly to the council.
City staff has recommended the council deny the petition and allow them to continue with the “public review and comment process,” which it said will tentatively allow staff to bring the guidelines to the council in June for approval.
The council voted unanimously to keep going with the formal review process, but to speed it up by about a month. The council is now expected to vote on the guidelines in May.