I had a chance to cruise by the interesting collection of businesses on 7th Street yesterday: Trente Cinq, Drip Coffee and Lisa G Wine Bar. Down the street is mainstay Coronado Cafe. There are quite a few urban destinations along that road, just as there are on 7th Avenue. And a lot of these places are fairly new. But while these are all promising signs of rebirth in Central Phoenix, they can only go so far in creating real city life because for all intents and purposes, they sit on highways. 7th Street and 7th Avenue each are six or seven-lane highways that serve as virtual walls cutting off one side of the street from the other. Pedestrians trying to cross these highways are taking their lives in their own hands.
While Phoenix is putting some money into narrowing 24th Street between McDowell and Washington as part of the recent bond package, it appears nothing will be done to narrow these streets in the immediate future. If Phoenix is really serious about bringing pedestrians to central and downtown Phoenix, a big start (bigger than adding shade, in my opinion) would be to narrow streets like 7th Street and 7th Avenue (and Third Street, and Third Avenue, and so on...) by expanding the sidewalk and even allowing vehicles to park on the street. I know this will never happen, but one can always dream.
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Hi - My sentiments exactly. Thx!
Most of Phx's streets are
utilized as highways and thruways, not as destinations in
themselves. they are so
not conducive to an urban atmosphere, not to mention they're not very safe. my ideas:
-eliminate the reverse lanes on
both 7 av and 7 st. i do not like them!
-add on-street parking, ideally on both sides, but at least on one side. if it's metered parking, perhaps that money could go towards improvements to that particular street (make each street an improvement district?)
-if parking is only on one side because of needed thru lanes, and
reverse lanes are eliminated, then make northbound 7th street have say 3 lanes and southbound 2, while northbound 7th avenue would have 2 lanes and southbound 3. that way, commuters to downtown would know to use 7th ave to go south to downtown and 7th street to go north out of downtown. make sense? :)
-put in a solid, raised and landscaped median w/ left turn cutouts and decorative street lamps
-add more traffic lights. to go
3/4 mile betw. lights seems ridiculous in an urban area.
-widen the sidewalks where possible to allow sidewalk cafes, etc.
-improved bus stops w/ shade
and larger trash receptacles
(they are always overflowing, so they are either too small or are not emptied often enough.)
-trees, trees, trees (that give dense shade), and plants/flowers
-better striping of lanes, and esp of crosswalks (not just 2 long, solid lines. those lines should be filled in w/ thick perpendicular lines, too)
-incentives for business to renovate and improve their properties
-preservation and restoration
of historic bldgs and signs
-better zoning, so parking lots
are not allowed to be at the street (they should be in the back of the property, and landscaped), and so proper infill development
is encouraged and happens
-also, perhaps zoning changes to encourage certain business and discourage others
-clean up and clutter removal at
problem sites
-perhaps lower speed limits
-include artwork and decorative, stylish design wherever possible.
-create neighborhood gateways (i usu. don't like that word), such
as something at 7th st and Oak st.
that lets one know that they are in Greater Coronado Neighborhood.
-did i mention shade trees!!!
-encourage good design principles for the streets, sidewalks and the bldgs, esp. those that take into account location, history, and
the sun's position (such as canopies and awnings)
-perhaps establish a central city village/encanto village neighborhood circulator transit line (like they have in Ahwatukee)
-bury or otherwise hideunsightly electrical lines and all those utility boxes that proliferate our streets, esp. around intersections. i've never seen such cluttered, unsightly corners.
-i'd like to see these types of ideas implemented on all major central phx streets, such as both 7s, 3rd ave, 5th ave, 3rd st,
16th st, 24th st, 19th ave,
camelback, i.s., thomas, van buren, and esp. mcdowell, which has such great potential.
-thanks, steve (ps - love this site !)
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