Street Improvement Opportunities
Here’s a list of observations about the state of our streets and issues we’d like to address.
State of Our Streets
- Rio Grande and Arizona Avenues are 3 lane, one-way streets.
- Schuster Avenue is a 2 lane (at times confusingly one lane), two-way street.
- Most vehicles on Arizona/Rio Grande drive on the middle lane.
- Traffic is most heavy during morning rush hour, noon, and evening rush hour.
Issues to Address
- Personal experience has shown that it is common to see middle lane drivers on Arizona/Rio Grande make illegal right and left turns from the middle lane.
- Vehicles stopped at Arizona/Rio Grande intersections have poor visibility of oncoming traffic due to the volume of vehicles parked on the side of the street. They will inch ever closer to the middle of the intersection to see traffic and blocking side lanes, increasing potential collision.
- Vehicles stopped at intersections with Arizona/Rio Grande will only focus on oncoming traffic and ignore pedestrians walking opposite of traffic. This increases the chances of collision between them.
- People will drive what feels comfortable to them, despite posted speed limit signs. Many violate the speed limit, endangering both pedestrians and other motorists.
- Vehicles often will make wide turns, encroaching into the right-of-way of oncoming traffic that is approaching the intersection
- Heavy presence of businesses and institutions, including attorney and health care offices, and schools, creates a parking problem.
- Large puddles of water form on streets during rain, making the road and sidewalk dangerous.
- Pedestrian infrastructure: sidewalks are deteriorating and lack connectivity (missing ADA intersections, drastic elevation changes). Due to summer temperatures and the urban heat island effect, walking can be unbearable at times.
- No bicycle lanes to connect to the rest of the bike infrastructure
Minimal Street Design Improvements
Arizona & Rio Grande Avenues
Scope
Arizona Ave and Rio Grande Ave between Stanton and Brown Streets
Summary
We’d like for improvements to closely mirror what has been done to Yandell Avenue between Ochoa and Campbell Streets, with the notable addition of a bike lane and pedestrian speed table crosswalks at intersections
Improvements that address street issues
- Reduce Rio Grande and Arizona Avenues from 3 one-way lanes to 2 one-way lanes – Issues 1, 4
- Introduce a share bike lane on each street – Issue 9
- Introduce angle parking on left side of the streets – Issues 4, 6
- Retain parallel parking along the left side of the streets – Issue 6
- Create Curb extensions on each intersection – Issues 4, 6, 8
- Create a speed table on each intersection for pedestrian crosswalk – Issues 2, 3, 14, 5, 8
- Plant trees and shrubs on curbs – Issues 7, 8
Schuster Avenue
Scope
Schuster Avenue between Stanton and Brown Streets
design details
- Reduce Schuster to a one lane street each direction.
- Add curb extensions on intersections.
- Add a protected bike lane at street level on Schuster
Complete Redesign Ideas
Arizona & Rio Grande Avenues
Traffic calming improvements include reducing the streets to one lane. Increase parking availability for businesses and residents by having angled parking. Rebuild the sidewalk system and plant trees along the parkway zone for shade. A 6-foot bike lane to be built above street grade level for added safety. Bike lane should be built of a permeable surface if possible.
Schuster Ave
Schuster would be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction. 6-foot sidewalks along with 5 feet of parkway. A bike lane at-grade with the sidewalk, consisting of 5 feet in each direction. 6-foot median between lanes of traffic with shrubs and a gutter with a small incline to allow emergency vehicle access if needed and allow water flow downstream. A 7-foot parking lane would be retained on the south side of Schuster (at least between Stanton through Virginia Streets). Access to properties opposite of lane of travel by vehicles can be made by turning around in proposed mini roundabout intersections.
Intersection Redesigns
We’d be happy for Arizona/Rio Grande Ave’s raised intersections to be at-grade/flush with sidewalks, built with a surface material different to that of the road asphalt to slow down vehicle traffic. Ideally, the surface can be made of spaced-out brick, stone, or other material to increase surface permeability.
Adding bollards will ensure safety between vehicles and pedestrians at the intersection. Eliminate all stop signs and introduce mini roundabouts. This will allow the flow of traffic from all sides, only needing to yield when necessary. The aim of the intersection is to slow vehicle speeds (by raising the intersection and adding a mini roundabout) while maintaining the free flow of traffic (no stop signs or stop lights) all the while encouraging them to yield to pedestrians and cyclists at the marked crosswalks.
For Schuster, intersections would contain mini roundabouts to reduce traffic speeds and allow easier access to properties opposite of the previously traveled lane. Intersections would also have curb extension to further minimize traffic speed.
Sun Metro Stops
Most bus stops follow a good safety guideline, which is to have the stop after the intersection. This allows perpendicular traffic to see oncoming traffic when the bus would otherwise hinder their view.
There are two exceptions, stop #2333 (Schuster/Ochoa) and stop #3197 (Arizona/Ochoa). These two stops should be relocated for safety purposes.