City updates to boost roadway safety welcome
What streets, areas would you recommend for improvements, readers?
The Yuma City Council has started the process of improving roadways to boost safety for drivers and pedestrians.
The council is using $2.6 million in federal grants to address areas of the city with a history of fatal accidents, and recently approved agreements with the Arizona Department of Transportation for the design and construction of the upgrades.
The list of projects includes upgraded pavement markings along 21.3 miles of arterial roadway on Giss Parkway, 16th Street, 32nd Street, and Avenues A and B. Wider pavement markings will be installed with upgraded thermoplastic paint.
The city also plans on installing flashing yellow arrow traffic signals at three intersections: 32nd Street and Avenue 7E; 32nd Street and Pacific Avenue; and 24th Street and Avenue A.
Pedestrians will also see improvements, with new hybrid beacons installed at the following five locations: Giss Parkway between 1st Street and Madison Street; 4th Avenue and Court Street; 4th Avenue and 4th Street or 5th Street; 4th Avenue and 12th Street or 13th Street; and 24th Street and 6th Avenue. The beacons are called HAWKS – high-intensity activated crosswalk beacons – which are only activated when pedestrians want to cross the street.
The goal with all of these improvements is to improve safety, both for drivers and pedestrians, which we support.
As Yuma grows and evolves, the demands on our roadways increase as well, and that requires more infrastructure to accommodate residents’ needs.
The areas identified by the city are great starting points, but it also begs the question – where are there other dangerous intersections that can also use the attention?
Yuma City Councilman Gary Knight suggested installing a HAWK along 8th Avenue, noting there were two schools, two apartment complexes, a church and Sanguinetti Park all in close proximity, and people cross in the middle of 8th Avenue. Knight pointed out there had been a fatality in that area as well.
City Director of Engineering Dave Wostenberg said that the grant process began in 2019, and the locations identified were selected based on a combination of pedestrian crossings and crash histories. However, he noted, 8th Avenue could be considered for a future HAWK.
The Yuma Sun Editorial Board would suggest a HAWK on Avenue A and 28th Street, across from Smucker Park. There’s a crosswalk there, and students headed to Kofa High regularly cross there. Having added visibility with beacons would tremendously increase the safety of that crosswalk.
Readers, we’d love to hear from you. What roadways within the Yuma city limits could benefit from additional safety improvements, whether it’s to benefit drivers or pedestrians?
Let us know. Send in a Letter to the Editor at letters@yumasun.com.
Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.