Reverse lanes in Phoenix have residents demanding change due to safety concerns
Reverse lanes spark outcry in Phoenix
Reverse lanes on 7th Street and 7th Avenue are the basis of a new petition to eliminate the features. FOX 10's Lauren Clark has the story.
PHOENIX - When someone brings up the 7th Avenue and 7th Street reverse lanes, it sparks lots of feelings in people in the Valley.
You either love them, or you hate them and some just want them to go away.
What they're saying:
"If you’re adapted to them, then you understand certain hours of the day you can or can’t make a left-hand turn," said one resident.
"There’s always head-on collisions. It’s like a daily occurrence!" said another.
The backstory:
This problem is not new.
The reverse lane on 7th Avenue was installed in 1979 and the one on 7th Street followed three years later.
The city says it helps mitigate traffic and congestion heading into downtown, but community members say it’s a living nightmare and want it gone.
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Community members once again demand end to Phoenix's reverse traffic lanes
Reverse traffic lanes have been a feature along a portion of 7th Street and 7th Avenue in Phoenix for decades, and there is now a new push by people in the area for the City of Phoenix to abolish them.
Local perspective:
At Copper Star Coffee off 7th Avenue and the Melrose Curve, coffee isn’t the only thing brewing.
Owner Bill Sandweg's frustration with the reverse lanes is reaching a boiling point.
"It’s old technology. There’s nothing that the reverse lanes do that modern traffic management software can’t do," he said.
The city says the lanes, which switch from southbound in the morning to northbound in the afternoon, help regulate the flow of traffic into and out of downtown during rush hours.
But for Bill, the design steers everything in the wrong direction.
Drivers get confused on the street that affects his business.
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"The idea that we need to have no left turns in all the major intersections during rush hour, I mean, say that to yourself a couple of times: how do we have no left-hand turn lanes during rush hour?" he said.
He’s not alone.
"These streets basically function like a highway would. They encourage speeding, they encourage aggressive driving behavior," said Stacey Champion.
Champion is a community advocate demanding the city reverse course and stop reverse lanes once and for all.
She started a Change.org petition, gathering over 4,000 signatures.
"I personally can’t count the number of head-on crashes that I’ve seen. I cannot count the number of near misses I’ve seen," said Champion.
Vehicles traverse the reverse lane on 7th Avenue in the Melrose District of Phoenix.
The other side:
The city of Phoenix directed FOX 10 to a 2021 study, which found that removing these lanes would create delays and increase potential crashes, but people who take the road all the time say they are not convinced.
"I would welcome any of the streets department or any of the council people or the mayor to start taking some walks and driving down during rush hour, and I think they too will be able to see with their own eyes what is really happening," said Champion.
Stacy says next week the city will discuss the issue at their meeting on May 21.