Eighth Street, between Rural Road and McClintock Drive, remains on Tempe’s list for improvements after a delay in 2019 upon the discovery of a “significant prehistoric archaeological find,” city officials said.

“Tempe continues to engage in robust consultation with the four southern tribes of Arizona to create a redesigned streetscape plan that will respect, preserve and celebrate the archaeological discovery, as well as incorporate it into the plan,” according to a release.

The Eighth Street Multi-Use Path and Streetscape Project archaeological investigation  documented more than 1,200 years of human history in a small slice of Tempe, according to the city.

"That history began when ancestral O’odham built a canal to provide irrigation water to fields north and south of the project.  A village segment grew up between that canal and the Salt River terrace edge, protected from floods and conveniently  located to tend nearby agricultural fields," a separate city release stated. 

"The Salt River terrace, the canal and the village constituted a persistent place on the landscape that influences how people live to this day."

Read the report.

The Eighth Street Streetscape project may include redesigned on-street parking, ADA changes, bicycle and pedestrian improvements and a proposed multi-use path, with landscape and lighting, the city said.

“The project is designed to accommodate all road users, emphasizing safety, access, comfort and sustainability,” the release stated.

Public meetings are scheduled for Oct. 18. The first is a Zoom session at noon Register; the second is at 6 p.m. at EnVision Center, 1310 E. Apache Blvd. 

The project is included in the Transportation Master Plan. Construction is anticipated to start in fall 2024, city officials said. The project is funded through a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant and Tempe Transit Tax funds.

For more information about the Eighth Street Streetscape project, and to comment online Oct. 18 to Nov. 1, visit tempe.gov/8thStreet.