Pedestrian traffic at the Mill Avenue and Fifth Street intersection will continue the pilot testing of a potentially new crosswalk operation after city council review.
In March, Tempe launched its pilot test of an all-pedestrian phase signal timing that prevents pedestrians from moving during vehicular traffic’s green light phase and creates a separate phase for all pedestrian movement including diagonally across the intersection.
Although it’s the city’s first crosswalk phase of this kind, all-pedestrian phase timings have been used since the 1940s nationally and internationally, according to a city staff report. Other cities that have such crosswalks include Boston, Chicago, New York City and many more.
Compared to a standard phase, which allows pedestrians and vehicles parallel to each other to move simultaneously, the all-pedestrian phase would contribute to Tempe City Council’s priority of transforming Tempe into a “20-minute city” by promoting alternative modes of travel.
The report noted that research on this phasing has provided guidance and recommendations for implementation as there are certain considerations needed in order for it to be successful.
At the June 22 city council meeting, City Traffic Engineer Cathy Hollow and Senior Civil Engineer Ellie Volosin delivered the presentation on data from the pilot program, which staff has been working on since April.
In their analysis, staff looked at motorized vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic during peak weekday morning and afternoon traffic hours to get the highest mix of both vehicle and pedestrian movements.
“The highest pedestrian crossing we had was in the p.m. peak hour with 143 pedestrians crossing that west crosswalk,” Volosin said. “We typically have about two-thirds of all the crossings take place going north-south crossing Fifth Street and one-third going east-west crossing Mill Avenue.”
Looking at approaching traffic from each direction, staff recorded delays in the all-pedestrian phase compared to the existing traffic phase and assigned a grade from A to F based on the level of service experienced.
On average, the all-pedestrian phase scored lower in level of service and longer delays for pedestrians and vehicles compared to the existing phase because pedestrians have to wait for all vehicular traffic to come to a stop and vice versa.
In the morning traffic peak, there was a total intersection delay of 60.5 seconds per vehicle in the all-pedestrian phase compared to a 31.3-second delay in the existing. This trend was also observed in the afternoon traffic peak with an all-pedestrian delay of 72.1 seconds per vehicle in comparison to the existing phase’s delay of 36 seconds.
Originally, the afternoon and morning peaks had a cycle length of 110 seconds for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic, however, the level of service for southbound traffic degraded to a score of F, requiring the pilot to increase the afternoon cycle to 130 seconds for all-pedestrian phasing. Even with this change, there were still notable delays.
Implementation
Actually putting the all-pedestrian phase in motion, the city had to make adjustments to the intersection to help facilitate and protect pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
With the new procedure, the city installed large, highly-visible signs that included QR codes pedestrians could scan and submit feedback about the all-pedestrian phase. Unfortunately, Volosin said that these signs “did start to disappear pretty quickly,” and they have had to continue to replace and adjust the signs to make it more efficient.
“We also put in ‘no turn on red’ signs because in an all-pedestrian phase it’s most beneficial to make sure that there are no cars turning when there’s a pedestrian movement happening,” she said.
Additionally, the timing of the signal lights were changed to accommodate all pedestrians, raising the clearance time at the intersection to 34 seconds, also increasing the traffic cycle length to 110 seconds outside of peak hours.
Speaking of the current challenges, Volosin said improvements could be made regarding pedestrian recall, the presence of the Tempe Streetcar and ADA accommodations.
As for pedestrian recall, there are no pedestrian buttons at this specific intersection, which could change if implemented elsewhere, and because of the separate pedestrian and vehicle phases, there could be instances where there are no pedestrians walking and vehicles are stuck waiting.
For the streetcar, Volosin said the city just has to be aware of its schedule clashing with the cycle and to ensure there is no overlap with pedestrian or vehicle traffic.
In terms of ADA accommodation, there are no high visibility crosswalks for the diagonal motions, which is something to implement if the pilot becomes permanent. There would also need to be changes to allow for people with wheeled devices to cross diagonally over the streetcar tracks.
Other notable data showed issues with vehicle and pedestrian compliance with the all-pedestrian phase, which the city anticipates to resolve by increasing communication about these changes if it becomes permanent.
Valley Metro, Tempe Police Department, several Mill Avenue businesses and the city’s Transportation Commission provided additional input about the all-pedestrian phase.
The police department and Valley Metro both noted delays, with the police noting there have been safety issues with people being confused with the new system. But, they did suggest permanent signs and markings to curb those “close calls.”
Of 10 businesses polled, two reported traffic delays, three reported no noticeable changes, four commented on misuse or confusion, and five responded that they liked or loved the new phase.
Finally, the Transportation Commission discussed the all-pedestrian phase at the beginning of June, where it made the recommendation for city council to extend the pilot by six months.
What next?
Hollow presented council with three options going forward: make the phase permanent, revert to the old phase or continue the pilot for another six months before making a final decision.
With those options, the mayor and council members discussed what would be the best and their individual preferences for the pilot.
Council member Joel Navarro asked whether there could be a way that the city proceed with the testing, but implement a system where the all-pedestrian and existing phases could both be used but at different times of the day.
“We’d have to have the push buttons in order to be able to do that, and so that would become part of the permanent installation if we did that,” Hollow said.
In their departmental discussions, they considered this possibility but decided it would be difficult to convey this system to the public about when it is and isn’t safe to cross diagonally and that it would likely create more confusion.
Going around the council chamber, the mayor and council members were initially divided on what to do next, with some wanting to implement the all-pedestrian phase and others wanting to prioritize safety by keeping the standard phasing.
Ultimately, council decided to continue the pilot for another six months with additional changes.
“They will continue the pilot for an additional six months, however, with some kind of increased signage and pavement markings to really clearly delineate exactly what we’re trying to accomplish at that intersection,” Mayor Corey Woods said.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org
To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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At the June 22 city council meeting, City Traffic Engineer Cathy Hollow and Senior Civil Engineer Ellie Volosin delivered the presentation on data from the pilot program, which staff has been working on since April.
Actually putting the all-pedestrian phase in motion, the city had to make adjustments to the intersection to help facilitate and protect pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Other notable data showed issues with vehicle and pedestrian compliance with the all-pedestrian phase, which the city anticipates to resolve by increasing communication about these changes if it becomes permanent.
Going around the council chamber, the mayor and council members were initially divided on what to do next, with some wanting to implement the all-pedestrian phase and others wanting to prioritize safety by keeping the standard phasing.
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