FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Vision Zero?

The City of Tempe is the first Vision Zero city in Arizona. Vision Zero is a traffic safety policy that takes an ethical approach towards achieving safety for all road users. Engineering safety countermeasures from the Vision Zero Plan will be incorporated when developing countermeasures as part of the Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Plan. For more information, visit the Vision Zero Website.

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What projects will have a potential impact on traffic and proposed countermeasures within the study area?

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Proposed plans for the North-South Pedestrian and Bicyclist Path and Tempe Streetcar are being reviewed as part of the study. For more information regarding these projects, visit the North-South Rail Spur Pedestrian and Bicyclist Path and Tempe Streetcar websites.

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There are multiple private developments being constructed near the study area that will have an impact on traffic. For more information regarding Tempe development projects, visit this Arcgis Website. 

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Have traffic volumes increased in the study area?

2019 traffic volumes were compared to historical counts from year 2008. Most of the roadway segments have experienced an increase in daily traffic volumes. The segments with the largest increases during the 11 years (greater than 50%) occurred on Farmer Avenue, Ash Avenue, and Maple Avenue.  A traffic volume map is provided under Study Documents.

What is the effectiveness of the existing traffic calming?

To reduce speeds along an extended section of a street, a series of traffic calming devices is needed. A single speed hump acts as only a point speed control. For speed humps, the recommended spacing is 300 to 500 feet. Multiple devices are required for the length of the street to achieve the desired level of discomfort to discourage speeding and cut-through traffic. Ash Avenue and Maple Avenue have long segments without any traffic calming devices. The series of existing traffic calming devices in the study area are generally effective in reducing speeds. As revealed by the existing traffic counts, the existing traffic calming devices do not provide a substantial amount of inconvenience to prevent cut-through traffic.

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What are the estimated costs of different traffic calming devices?

The following resources provide estimated costs for different traffic calming, pedestrian, and bicyclist infrastructure.

FHWA Traffic Calming ePrimer website

Costs for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Infrastructure Improvements

Cost Analysis of Bicycle Facilities

Are street closures and diverters being considered?

All traffic calming devices are being considered as potential countermeasures. It is important to consider the impact of a countermeasure to the other study streets and surrounding neighborhoods. The design of the traffic calming device is also a consideration, since there is limited right-of-way.