Document text
Draft transportation plan PHOENIX -- New and improved roads, sidewalks and bike paths are not the answer to all of the city's transportation problems, but city officials say Phoenix's draft transportation plan is a blueprint that sets priorities for transportation spending in the next 20 years. The Planning Commission will hear public testimony on the comprehensive land-use plan at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall. The total cost of all the recommended projects comes to $44,795,000, but only $11,213,000 worth made it on a short list of projects with realistic funding possibilities. "The plan is not meant to be pie in the sky," said planning consultant Gary Shaff, who drafted the report. "If you can't pay for them it doesn't matter if (the need is) 20 years or 40 years out, it's not going to get done." Some of the preferred alternatives on the financially constrained project list would have the city: Install a traffic signal at Rose Street and Highway 99. Relocate Luman Road and North Phoenix Road, including traffic signals at the new intersections with Fern Valley Road and at the I-5 off-ramps. Construct South Phoenix Road and extend Freshwater Drive to meet with Pear Tree Lane. Replace the Fern Valley bridge over Bear Creek. Install a raised median barrier between the northbound lanes of Bear Creek Road (Highway 99) to aid drivers turning left from First Street. Add a network of bicycle lanes and sidewalks to existing and new streets. Phoenix planners will look at Cheryl Lane - Hwy. 99 safety Committee favors banning left turns By WENDY SIPOREN PHOENIX -- The most dangerous intersection in town would not be realigned under a draft transportation plan under consideration by the Planning Commission Monday. The long-debated fix of Cheryl Lane, Hwy. 99 and Fern Valley Road was given a thumbs down by a citizens advisory committee because the new road would cut through a portion of adjacent businesses. The committee instead endorsed prohibiting left-turns into and out of Cheryl Lane, a road just north of Ray's Sentry Market which provides a major access route to Phoenix High School and nearby residential areas. A raised median barrier would be installed between the two southbound lanes of Hwy. 99 to enforce the rule, beginning just north of Cheryl Lane. The median would also prevent drivers turning right out of Cheryl Lane to cut across traffic to turn left onto Fern Valley Road, but allow continued access to the Exxon gas station for southbound drivers. "(The area) scares me to death," said Planning Commissioner Sandy Christiansen, who sat on the advisory committee. "It would be nice to realign Fern Valley with Cheryl Lane, but ... there's no easy way to do it without destroying a business and believe me, Phoenix needs all we can get." While no one has died at the intersection, there were 23 accidents from 1995 to 1997, many of them rear-end collisions resulting from cars waiting to turn left onto Cheryl Lane. That's an increase over a five-year period from 1989 to 1993, when the intersection saw just 15 accidents. City and state transportation planners say something must be done to improve safety at the intersection because traffic isn't getting any lighter. "It's not good enough to say we will take care of that next year," said planning consultant Gary Shaff. "It needs to be taken care of as part of this plan." In 1995, the city rejected an Oregon Department of Transportation request to install a median barrier at the intersection because of its impact on business access. ODOT planner Mark Ashby says the committee's decision is just a short-term solution to the long-term needs of the city and region. "As traffic increases, those problems will increase," said Ashby. "The alternative (realignment) provides ... a better opportunity for citizens to get around. "We are interested in the city at least looking at that (realignment)," he said. "If we continue to have a safety problem, the state would have to respond to address that." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA