Phoenix’s efforts to improve its bicycling infrastructure took a positive step last year with the new buffered lanes on Central between Camelback and Bethany Home. Where Phoenix lags other cities, however, is in the addition of lanes in which bikes are separated from cars by a physical barrier. The proposed 32nd St. revitalization project in northeast Phoenix provides an opportunity for protected lanes and should be designed to accommodate them.

See the link below to find a detailed slideshow. 32nd St. has declined as a retail corridor and no longer has the same volume of traffic it once had. It is now a prime candidate for a "road diet," the popular name for removing some lanes now dedicated to cars and replacing them with improved sidewalks, bike lanes, and landscaped strips.

For the most part the proposed changes to 32nd St. are good ones. They'll help redefine the road as a pleasant, bike-friendly corridor marked not by empty storefronts, but instead by thriving local businesses and organizations such as 32 Shea, an independent coffee house; BASIS, a charter school; the Rock, Alice Cooper's new youth outreach center; and Hubbard Family Swim School, one of the nation's premier water safety programs for children.

To make the 32nd St. revitalization program as effective as possible, one important change to the proposed design is needed. Specifically, the bike lanes shown on slide #29 are located between the landscaped strip and the lanes that will remain for automotive travel. Instead, the bike lanes should be moved so that they'll lie between the sidewalk and the landscaped area.

This design change will make the lanes feel safer for casual bicyclists who are understandably intimidated by the thought of pedaling next to traffic moving up to 45 miles per hour. In addition, parents of children who attend classes at BASIS or youth programs at the Rock are more likely to allow their children to travel via bike if the lanes are appropriately protected.