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Town Council

Paradise Valley Town Council simmers cut-through traffic discussion

Posted 7/16/20

With questions brewing and few answers, the Paradise Valley Town Council will examine a practice known as cut-through traffic but will do so in the fall.

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Town Council

Paradise Valley Town Council simmers cut-through traffic discussion

Posted

With questions brewing and few answers, the Paradise Valley Town Council will examine a practice known as cut-through traffic but will do so in the fall.

Town leaders heard a presentation of the item at a June 25 meeting and while the Town Council expressed interest in the topic, they ultimately punted the issue for the time being.
Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner said he thinks this topic deserves an in-depth discussion later.

“I see this as more intertwined with the General Plan process, frankly, because part of it is getting public input,” he said.

“Whenever we touch a roadway in some capacity ... we inevitably hear from citizens about issues --- speeding, traffic --- and we certainly have a lot of tools in our tool chest but I think there is a great opportunity for dialogue.”

Town Engineer Paul Mood said cut-through traffic is when commuters use residential streets to bypass congested major roads. Mr. Mood said this issue surfaces during construction projects and sometimes includes speeding traffic through residential areas.

“One question we need to ask ourselves: Is cut-through traffic a real or a perceived problem?” he asked during the presentation.

“This question needs to be analyzed to determine if it’s a town-wide concern or if there are specific areas of concern in the town that exist all the time and not just when there is construction going on.”

Police Chief Peter Wingert said his department fields many calls about traffic complaints or patrol requests because of speeding in neighborhoods. He said he does focus his patrols on where the majority of complaints come from as a way to abate the problem.

“Realistically, we’re not real effective at this,” Mr. Wingert said. “It’s really hard to hide a large black-and-white [patrol car] in a neighborhood by sitting alongside the road so when we’re in the area, we don’t see a problem.”

Paradise Valley’s General Plan mentions both through traffic and cut-through traffic.

The town is supposed to direct through traffic, which is traffic that has its destination outside the town, to Lincoln Drive and Tatum Boulevard. Mr. Mood said the two major roads will promote safety but not see increases to speed or capacity. The town is supposed to discourage cut-through traffic on all roadways via design, traffic controls and enforcement, per the General Plan.

The General Plan outlines local streets should flow into collector roadways. Collector roads then flow into minor arterials, which then flow into major arterials.

The town must update its General Plan by March 2022 and Community Development Director Jeremy Knapp said mobility will be part of the discussion. He said one possibility is a subcommittee or focus group to set goals for this section.

As for addressing cut-through traffic, Mr. Mood presented three potential approaches: education, engineering and enforcement.

Education would include influencing social mapping, such as Google Maps, and through public outreach. Enforcement could include patrols, speed trailers and the use of the police department’s hot spot program.

Potential engineering options would include the building of speed humps, chicanes, roundabouts and signage with speed radar technology. Mr. Mood said the town could collect cut-through traffic data but that can be hard because it isn’t obvious where motorists are headed.

Vice Mayor Julie Pace said she has heard numerous complaints about cut-through traffic and thinks the town will receive waves of public comment regarding the topic. She also lauded the efforts from the town to slow speeders, especially in residential areas.

“I think it’s helping a lot more with what we promised the residents we would put forth and put together and have available, and I think it’ll be good to use these things as you work through things to update things in the March 2022 plan,” she said.