Safe Street Design

Image: AZCentral

Safe Street Design standards will help low-cost and low-emissions transportation become viable in Greater Phoenix. 

Much of the Phoenix MSA contains wide, multi-lane, high speed arterial roads. Arterial roads are the most dangerous type of road, where over two thirds of all crashes occur, nationwide, despite them making up a minority of roads. Wide car lanes and multiple lanes also communicate to drivers to go faster. High speeds and car volumes make the streets hostile to pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers alike. 

Narrower streets, both in terms of lane-width and the number of lanes, slow vehicles speeds and reduce frequency and intensity of crashes. Where it’s possible, reducing car lane widths can allow for wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes, landscaping, tree cover, and more. VUAA advocates for adoption of safety-oriented design features to become part of the local standards in the Valley, including but not limited to:

• Raised crosswalks, 

• Raised medians,

• Bollard-protected micromobility lanes,

• Tight turning radii, 

• Chicanes, 

• High-visibility crosswalks, 

• Traffic circles,

• Daylighting at intersections,

• Perpendicular ADA ramps at corners

• 9' lane widths,

• Full separation of pedestrians and high-speed traffic
  
  

These features, among others, result in drivers slowing down and paying attention and thereby reduce crashes and injuries for all road users. However, the reason many drivers in the Valley want to drive fast is because their daily destinations are long distances away from each other and not convenient to transit lines. That is why we prioritize zoning, parking, and building code reform, so that over time, average trip length will decrease and slow driving speeds will be more functional.

A raised crosswalk communicates to drivers to slow down. Image: Streetsblog

Another regionally adaptive way to improve street safety is with green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). GSI can include rain gardens, vegetated swales, or permeable pavers. The current "revocable permits" method of permitting GSI means the city can take away the permit approval later and shift any potential liability to the property owner (and away from the city itself). By removing the permit requirement, Phoenix could encourage more shade trees, planters, and stormwater features that cool streets, reduce flooding, and buffer pedestrians from traffic. Cooler, greener streets would make walking and biking more comfortable in Phoenix’s hot, desert climate. 

In addition, currently, the use of anything other than traditional concrete or asphalt on streets and parking lots requires a separate zoning approval process. That requirement should be removed. Alternative permeable surfaces such as pavers or porous asphalt can reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate heat. Much like the GSI reforms above, this would also help cool the valley by mitigating the burgeoning urban heat island effect. This would make walking safer in such a hot climate, and it has the additional benefit of improving drainage. 

Today, Phoenix faces extreme heat, flash flooding, and historically car-oriented infrastructure that marginalizes other road users. Updating our street design standards to require GSI would:

• Encourage slower, safer traffic.
  
  

• Make streets more walkable and bikeable.
  
  

• Cool and shade the sidewalks and reduce sitting water in the road, minimizing pot holes.
  
  

• Recharge our aquifers with stormwater.
  
  

Models from Cities Making Improvements in their Street Design Standards:

• Baltimore, MD - Its Complete Streets Manual and design standards explicitly call for “vegetated stormwater curb bumpouts” and require that GSI within the city right-of-way be coordinated with the Public Works and DOT departments.
  
  

• Minneapolis, MN - In their 2021 Complete Streets Policy, the city commits to treating the right-of-way as more than just for moving cars: it explicitly mentions that streets should include healthy trees, permeable surfaces, plants, and features that “absorb and cleanse stormwater runoff.”

Green Storm Water Infrastructure mitigates flooding of streets during monsoons and waters native shade trees. Image: CityofTucson