Road Diet 2: Thomas slimdown plan unveiled

Apr. 17—Anyone for "Road Diet 2: The Sequel"?

Less than a month after a heated City Council debate over a "road diet" on 68th Street, during which City Councilwoman Solange Whitehead promised there is no "conspiracy theory" for roads across Scottsdale, a second road slimming project is lined up.

"Will you be having a road diet in your neighborhood soon?" Whitehead asked, before answering her own question.

"No."

Unless, that is, you live in southwest Scottsdale, between Papago and Ingleside golf clubs.

The city is proposing alterations — including turning a car traffic lane into a bike lane — on a 2-mile length of Thomas Road between 73rd and 56th streets.

The new proposal is almost sure to evoke echoes of the last City Council meeting, which featured a debate that can generally be summarized as bike safety vs. "social engineering."

The March 21 meeting concerning a 1-mile stretch of 68th Street featured a fairly equal verbal battle, with some baffled by the city slimming streets while apartments go up and others demanding safety for bikers and pedestrians as they begged council for approval — which it gave, though by a split decision after much teeth gnashing.

The big selling point here was that the city would have to contribute just $200,000 to the $1.6 million project, with federal funding covering most of the conversion of two vehicle lanes to bike lanes, lighted crosswalks and other improvements.

Council members Tom Durham, Tammy Caputi and Whitehead and Mayor David Ortega voted for the 68th Street nip-and-tuck; Barry Graham, Kathy Littlefield and Betty Janik opposed it.

"Do we want to introduce this antagonism to the city?" Littlefield asked.

Council members on both sides of the 68th Street project said they have been flooded by emails, with some favoring street safety and others demanding "keep our traffic lanes!"

That likely will only continue, with the April 11 announcement via the city's social media site of the Thomas project.

The Facebook post almost immediately drew comments, ranging from "another common sense project" to what has become a sort of Greek chorus, "no road diets!"

While council members expect to be presented the project in May, the city is hosting an "open house" on the Thomas Road project at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, at the Community Design Studio, 7506 E. Indian School Road.

The project will also be presented to the Transportation Commission at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, April 20 at Scottsdale City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.

Eschewing the "road diet" phrase, the city is now using "complete streets" to describe these road renovations.

According to the city description, changes on Thomas include:

—Right turn lanes at 64th and 68th streets and Scottsdale Road.

—Increased separation between the sidewalk and vehicular travel lane for pedestrians.

—Accessibility improvements to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements at sidewalks driveways and ADA ramps at intersections.

—New pavement throughout the corridor.

—Removal of one east bound travel lane to make room for turn lanes, bike lanes and to match the number of travel lanes (two in each direction) on either side of the project.

—Standard bike lanes to complete the gap in bike lanes on Thomas Road.

—New traffic signals at existing signalized intersections.

—Drainage improvements.

—Undergrounding of some power poles.

The price tag on this one: $4.8 million.

That's triple the 68th Street project. The funding will include city and federal funding (a breakdown has not been provided).

While there may be no "conspiracy," the Thomas Road project is unlikely to be the last time a Scottsdale road faces a slimdown.

According to the city's Transportation Action Plan, "While 5% of streets need additional capacity, many others have been reclassified to reduce the number of required lanes, enabling them to be transformed into 'Complete Streets' that are safer and more comfortable for bicycles and pedestrians."

Down the road, so to speak, other streets of Scottsdale that are candidates for lane reductions include:

—64th Street (Jomax to Dynamite)

—92nd Street (Raintree to Frank Lloyd Wright)

—96th Street (Via Linda to Shea)

—Drinkwater

—Goldwater

—McCormick Parkway (Scottsdale and Hayden)

—Osborn Road (70th to Scottsdale)

—Raintree Drive (Thompson Peak Pkwy to Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard)

According to the project description, "The Thomas Road Complete Street Project will take place in early 2024 and will improve safety and provide a more consistent roadway for those traveling by car, foot, or bicycle between 56th Street and 73rd Street, just east of Scottsdale Road.

"Thomas Road, west of Scottsdale Road, is currently an unbalanced roadway configuration with two west bound lanes and three eastbound lanes," the city said.

"The roadway was designed to handle pre-freeway traffic patterns and volumes and currently has excess capacity. When roadways operate with excess capacity, they result in speeding and dangerous conditions. Reducing the number and width of travel lanes will discourage speeding and provide space for turn lanes to make the roadway operate more efficiently."

Scottsdale isn't the only city looking at road slimming.

The Thomas project description notes the City of Phoenix is proposing bike lanes from 48th Street to 56th Street, "changing from three eastbound travel lanes to two travel lanes in each direction.

"The city of Scottsdale project will coordinate design east of 56th Street with the Phoenix project."

For more information, visit scottsdaleaz.gov/construction/project-list/thomas-road-complete-street.