November 18, 2004 Update
Coronado Fight Back West Traffic Committee
Much has happened in the short time since the vote of support at the October 21st meeting!
Items approved and are pending installation, or presently installed:
YIELD signs:
Windsor/Evergreen intersection. Installed on the NW and the SE corners of Windsor and Evergreen on November 19. No cost.
2-way STOPs:
9th St and Sheridan- The STOP signs installed on the Northwest corner and the Southeast corner (stopping northbound and southbound traffic). Installed on Nov 19. No cost.
14th St and Coronado- The STOP signs installed on the Northeast corner and the Southwest corner (stopping Eastbound and Westbound traffic). Installed on November 19. No cost.
Pedestrian island/staggered crosswalk
12th Street north of Virginia. The School Safety Engineer is in the process of rewriting the scope of work to submit to the Arizona Department of Transportation as part of the big pedestrian safety grant, so the project is still far away, but in the works. No cost.
Striping on Virginia at 7th Street, eastbound
To reduce traffic confusion with clearly marked turn lanes designating which lane is through traffic and which is turning traffic. This can be completed within a month or two. No petitions required. No cost.
In Resident approval process:
The big news is the completion of the Virginia Street traffic mitigation plan by the City engineers, led by Steve McKenzie at NTMT. From the explanation we received from the City, we can tell that a lot of experienced thought and consideration for resident input went into the unique and creative design. That fact is reflected in the overall cost of implementing the plan—a half million dollars. Fight Back program dollars of $39,000 will leverage $470,000 in other funding to make the mitigation plan a reality. Barb Gonzales, our Neighborhood Specialist, has been amazingly instrumental in bringing this all together.
And without all the people who have turned out to help with ideas and support traffic solutions, this would not have been possible. The vote of support and concerned interest at the October 21st meeting (60 people), numerous e-mails, and workshops brought the attention that was needed, and gained Coronado respect in the dynamic relationships that are necessary to be able to put together a plan of this size. It is this kind of resident support that enables Barbara along with us to approach the City with ideas, visions and plans of this magnitude and get results.
Virginia Street Mitigation Plan:
Calming treatment on Virginia, 7th Street to Dayton Street .Will require petition signatures
- 1) It is important to notice that the design does “not” use any kind of diverter device, this was intentionally done so that the cars on Virginia would remain on Virginia and not move to other streets, yet the design will still have the desired calming effect on the traffic that does travel Virginia.
2) The Traffic Circle on 8th street placed close to the light at 7th street served two purposes: The first, in combination with the alternate bulb-outs would create a “visual effect” from the perspective at the 7th street light that the street is not a through street. This will cause people to make their turns at 7th Street instead of proceeding into the neighborhood, reducing the number of cars traveling Virginia. The second is to perhaps provide a location for some “gateway art” at one of the most visible location entrances to the Coronado Neighborhood, building that sense of community and identity that was a goal of the Traffic Solutions from the beginning.
3) The alternate bulb-outs provide the effect of visually narrowing the street, a calming feature, while at the same time retaining the available on street parking and turning radius for alley garbage trucks, along this portion of Virginia. An added benefit is that they will provide an excellent opportunity for streetscape.
Center median on Virginia from Dayton to 12th
To reduce traffic congestion and increase safety for students by keeping them (and the parents who pick them up and drop them off) on the north side of Virginia.
The design will be such that it will discourage the crossing of Virginia from 12th to Dayton Streets. It will also prevent student traffic from turning south onto the neighborhood streets from Virginia, reducing that traffic.
In conjunction with the student waiting area below, this will eliminate the need for students to cross the busy street to reach their rides. It will also keep waiting cars away from the homes south of Virginia. Median to be funded through Fight Back. Will require petition signatures.
Student waiting area, on North High campus
A shaded, comfortable student waiting area on campus plus landscaping of the southern edge of campus will be funded from North High’s school bond funding. We may write grants to augment the funds. We will be invited to be a part of the planning. This will attract and retain the students on campus and reduce the desire to be on the streets of the neighborhood. Student input will make this concept a workable reality. No cost.
Designated student drop-off/pick-up lane, north side of Virginia, from Dayton Street to 12th Street
This will be done with striping and will not require any funding. It will functionally narrow the width of Virginia. With pick up/drop off on the north side, students will no longer need to cross Virginia through busy traffic to reach their rides. It should also resolve the problem of loitering and littering on neighborhood streets. No cost.
The “unique and creative design” will start with temporary devices to test the effectiveness of the plan. Requires petitions showing 70% support before a 90-day test starts using a combination of flex-curbing, striping and water-filled barriers to emulate a median island. Will require petition signatures for permanent installation.
Traffic circle 12th and Oak
To calm 12th Street traffic. This location is under consideration through a pilot program, and would be at no cost to Fight Back. If engineers find it physically feasible, and property owners on all 4 corners support it, then it will require petition signatures from neighboring residents before the test phase and again before permanent installation. No cost.
Speed tables
To address speeding problems.
13th Street, between McDowell and Palm. (Petition signatures are in-hand.)
Speed humps
To address speeding problems.
Cambridge, between 12th and 14th (signatures are in-hand)
Edgemont, between 12th and 14th (signatures are required) Windsor, between 12th and 14th (signatures are required)
Signage on Granada near Emerson School
To address speeders, add high visibility school signage plus speed limit signs as determined by Emerson School and the City School Safety Engineer. In process. No cost.
Next phase(s):
Over the months, a clear vision emerged from all those meetings—attractive, effective solutions for our streets that add to our historic neighborhood. Solutions that benefit the greatest number of residents, on an area-wide basis. As a result of strong neighborhood input, the Traffic Committee has set the goals high.
It is important to remember that we cannot return to the days of less cars and “I can remember when”, but we can lay out a vision for the future and work towards “I look forward with excitement and anticipation for the new identity and look in Coronado”. This is a vision and goal that is based in “reality”, it is one that is both possible to achieve and one that is well on it’s way to realization. Forward looking is always good when it comes to traffic.
Since the neighborhood had more concerns than money to address them though this Fight Back program, the Traffic Committee began to think in phases. We focused on the quadrant with the most traffic issues, the highest traffic volume on a local street, and the most resident input to the process--the northwest quad, which includes North High--through this Fight Back. The items listed in the “In Planning” section describe the comprehensive plan for Virginia. This is Phase I.
Once we successfully complete traffic calming on Virginia, we will have a highly visible example of what our neighborhood is committed to accomplishing in partnership with the City. We can point to Virginia as “a start” when we ask for other funding or a second round of Fight Back to undertake the next two phases of traffic improvement in Coronado, the last two supported items on the list. This Fight Back program with its very visible and high success is our “resume”; this is what we take to the City to show our effectiveness when we are applying for the next phases. Our “resume” includes the excellent and now well-established working relationships with neighbors, Barbara Gonzales, the Councilmen’s office and NTMT. This is critical in implementing our lofty goals in the future.
Phase II:
Request additional studies, 10th Street north of McDowell
To address our second highest traffic volume on a local street. Neighborhood to work with NTMT in 2005 to identify solutions that address cut-through traffic issues caused by rush hour traffic congestion on McDowell Road and 7th Street.
Phase III:
Continue calming of 12th Street, from Oak Street south to McDowell
To calm 12th Street traffic. With a pedestrian island and a traffic circle in place to the north, traffic calming could continue all the way south to McDowell, creating an attractive boulevard through the heart of the neighborhood. This might include small center islands, or bump outs with parking, to narrow the street and slow traffic.
Now we need your help!
We need your continued support in this process. We have volunteers who have stepped up at prior meetings to collect required signatures, but the more volunteers involved, the merrier. And the easier it will be. We will provide you with all of the necessary maps, design plans, and other visuals you will need, and will ask you to go out in groups of two. We will do some preliminary gathering so that we will be able o anticipate for you the questions that will arise, and provide you with information and answers. Those of us who have already been out gathering signatures for other smaller parts of the traffic plan have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is, and at the wonderful neighbors we have met.
Anyone who has not been an active participant in this process so far is very welcome to join in. We would like to get as many people involved in the process. Having a large number of involved people in the past has resulted in ideas that a “few” cannot imagine. We will need your imaginations in the future. This is an opportunity to get to know how this process of building results from ideas works.
You will want to be able to say to your friends “I helped in putting half million in improvements in Coronado”. Esteem building and self-satisfaction are just as free and available as the coffee and bagels.
We need your help. Let us hear from you.
Wayne Murray
Traffic Committee Chairman
602.258.2605 or wayne@xnar.com
Check out what’s been happening in traffic at: http://www.gcna.info/fight_back/traffic.htm.