Interested in having the light rail come to the neighborhood? Attend one of the transportation meetings.
The city of Phoenix Public Transit and Street Transportation departments will host some open houses in downtown Phoenix to gain resident feedback on priorities for city transportation improvements.
OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE:
6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28

Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St
6-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29

Parsons Center for Health and Wellness, 1101 N. Central Ave., West Lobby

5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5

Emmet McLoughlin Community Training and Education Center, 1150 S. Seventh Ave.

Individuals can get more information or share their priorities by calling 602-262-7242, e-mailing talktransportation@phoenix.gov, or visiting www.talktransportation.org. No RSVP is required to attend. Thanks in advance!

Councilman Bill Gates applauded the Phoenix City Council’s unanimous approval of the North 32nd Policy Plan on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Plan is the culmination of a comprehensive two-year, citizen-driven effort by Councilman Gates and Vice Mayor Jim Waring to revitalize land uses, upgrade the number and types of businesses and improve the amenities available for residents along North 32nd Street. The working group included residents, area business leaders, and city staff with support from Arizona State University and the Urban Land Institute.

The full plan, which covers the corridor from the Phoenix Mountains Preserve in the south to the Loop 101 in the north, is available online at phoenix.gov/district3.

“A project of this magnitude requires a clear vision, comprehensive community input and a collective desire to make big changes.” Councilman Gates said. “This plan includes all three of those elements. Residents and business owners will see the first positive changes in a matter of months when work begins on the road diet. This will change the nature of North 32 Street by making it quieter, more walkable and easier to bike. It also will create a buffer between traffic and adjacent homes and businesses that will be more attractive for future development and revitalization. Additionally, residents will see North 32nd branding in street signs at major intersections along 32nd Street from Shea to Bell.”

“With detailed involvement from business owners and residents over two years, this plan is a true consensus on the needs and priorities of this important corridor,” Vice Mayor Jim Waring said. “The city council’s unanimous approval demonstrates the importance of improving conditions for businesses to grow and thrive while continuing to look for ways to keep established residential neighborhoods attractive and vibrant.”

The road diet includes removal of one vehicular northbound travel lane and addition of bike lanes on both sides of North 32nd Street. The project will be completed in the spring of 2015, and also includes modifications to several traffic signal poles and the addition of traffic cameras at several intersections. Beyond the road diet, there is limited municipal funding.

“This plan really is just the beginning of our long-term goals and efforts for this corridor,” Gates added. “The City of Phoenix will work tirelessly to identify potential funding sources and public-private partnerships, but we’ll also need consistent involvement from residents and businesses as we move forward.”

The plan includes recommendations from three working group subcommittees: Branding and Events, Transportation and Street Improvements, and Land Use. The Branding and Events Subcommittee focused on ways to promote the area’s unique character through marketing, branding, and community events. The Transportation and Street Improvement Subcommittee identified public property in need of repair and explored ways to encourage private property improvements. The Land Use Subcommittee recommended improvements to city processes, regulations, and enforcement, while also providing feedback to future land use improvements and entitlement changes.

The meeting at Shea Middle school was packed last night. The meeting included city representatives from the following departments: Planning, Arts and culture, Neighborhood services, Parks, Streets, District 3 Office and District 2 Office.

The meeting was attended and facilitated by District 3 Councilman Gates and District Two, Vice Mayor Jim Waring.

Goals: gather input, share specific ideas, identify tasks, develop subcommittees.

Summary of Statements: Due to the bypass of traffic created by the SR51, businesses are not as supported as they once were. This lack of traffic has impacted local businesses and neighborhoods, the purpose of these meetings is to envision a new future for North 32nd Street. Community involvement at these meetings shows the council that the residents of our neighborhood want to invest in our community and support businesses in this area. We hope to start a business association within the corridor. Filling vacancies is our short term goal, a goal that has been helped with Alice Cooper’s the Rock, Jambo, the Original Breakfast Joint, At Home, and many others. The meeting was intended to focus on the long term goals helped to be developed by ASU and the Urban Land Institute. These groups have had in the data and development of our designs. Utilizing this input we have broken the corridor down into three different phases.
Phase One is from the SR51 to Sweetwater, Phase Two is from Sweetwater to Paradise, Phase Three is Paradise, North. They hope to have sub-committees brought forward with community participation. There will be a follow up meeting on October 22 where input from this planning meeting will be brought forward to develop a final plan to be voted upon by the city.

Street Improvements: A road diet will be imposed to take out a Northbound lane and restripe from Shea to past Bell Rd to two lanes each direction and include a bicycle lane. A treatment will be applied from Shea to Greenway for a new rubberized surface, new road striping will take place up North 32nd Street for bicycle lane connectivity. The new pavement work will take place in the spring during March/April 2015. Signage will be installed from Shea to Bell Rd and will include the 32nd street logo, November will mark the start of this work.

Feedback can be sent directly to the District 3 office at 602-262-7441 or council.district.3@phoenix.gov.

Below are some photos from the event.