Residents of south Phoenix along 16th Street have complained for years that walking along the busy street can be dangerous and sometimes impossible because of flooding and lack of a walkway along the road.

Earlier this month, local residents met with city officials at Fisher A.M.E Zion Church to discuss both a temporary fix to the problem and a longterm permanent project that would overhaul much of 16th Street to mitigate flooding and safety concerns of residents.

City officials have set aside an initial amount of $500,000 for construction of a multiuse path running 0.5 miles, along 16th Street from Dobbins Road to South Mountain Avenue. Project engineer John Dickson met with residents, some of whom belong to the group Concerned Residents of South Phoenix, to say the project will begin in April or May, and the city has budgeted more than $1 million to complete the initial walkway project.

“Right now the asphalt pathway portion is estimated at roughly $500,000. We’re going to engage a contractor to help us nail those prices down even better. The $1.2 million is the overall budget for the whole project. That includes the administrative costs and everything else too,” said Dickson.

Residents requested shading to be added along the pathway and a medium of some sort to help distinguish the pathway from the road. Some residents also suggested the pathway be painted a different color than what was proposed and that there be lighting added for residents who walk late at night or in the early morning.

Dickson said the city can address some of those concerns but a much more extensive project will be started in a few years that will completely transform 16th Street.

“The easy ones are like coloring the asphalt. That should not add a significant amount to the project. The landscaping, lighting and shade ideas are not really within the scope of the project so we probably won’t be able to do those. We’re trying to put down this path because coming down the road in about four years is a major storm drain project that will completely rebuild the roadway, so everything within the right of way is gonna get ripped up and redone. We don’t want to plant trees and we don’t want to put fancy shade structures or anything like that out there that will just come out of the ground later,” said Dickson.

The money for that more extensive project will come from the general obligation bond that was approved by voters last November. However funds for the more extensive renovation won’t be available until 2027.

Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington, who represents residents in the area, said in an interview that the initial project probably won’t address all the residents’ concerns, but eventually 16th Street will be fixed.

“It’s a temporary fix until we are able to get to the project. Ideally, we would want to take care of everything all at once, but just because of how long the construction design process takes, it is best to move forward with something a little smaller in scale just to address the walkability concerns as well as the flooding concerns. And this is something the neighborhood really, really wanted,” said Hodge Washington.

Hodge Washington added the city wanted to respond to immediate concerns from residents like the Concerned Residents of South Phoenix. The group was started nearly a decade ago by Carole Coles Henry and her husband after there was severe flooding in the area.

“We noticed that there was a need for the city to be more prepared around those issues, whether it was barricades or signage to ensure that people didn’t ride through standing water. So we contacted some folks down at the city and told them there was a need to be more vigilant and to be more engaged with the residents to understand what some of our needs are. So that has always been a value of ours,” said Coles Henry.

CRSP started meeting with the Streets Transportation department in City Hall management and then other city departments began to join.

“It’s empowering for the people who live in the community to see that their leaders who are paid by taxpayer dollars are going to make themselves available and their resources available,” said Coles Henry.

Coles Henry said safety is her main concern and community involvement is the key to getting things done.

“What better way to remain engaged with the city than having a conversation with them and to put on the table things that we feel would be beneficial to improve the community, not only aesthetically, but from a safety perspective,” said Coles Henry.