Background: In 1995, Tempe’s Riverside and Sunset neighborhoods approached the city of Tempe with concerns about increasing traffic volumes and speeds on Fifth Street. Fifth Street is a major collector street in the middle of this neighborhood, with many important neighborhood destinations, including Scales Elementary School, Jaycee Community Park, Westside Multigenerational Center
and a neighborhood market. The neighbors wanted to achieve specific goals:
• ensure that residents would be able to get around their neighborhood easily and safely by bicycle, bus or walking;
• reduce high-speed, cut-through traffic and vehicle emissions;
• maintain the character of the neighborhood.
 

Goals of Project: One of the goals of Tempe’s transit program is to provide a livable community with a balanced transportation system that is environmentally sustainable and helps preserve neighborhoods. In order to enhance and preserve the physical character of Tempe and promote accessible transportation options, the city of Tempe instituted the Fifth Street Pedestrian Enhancement and Traffic Calming Project. More than 5,500 people live in the project area which consists of 1.5 square miles. The overall goals of the traffic-calming project were to:
• reduce traffic volume and speed on Fifth Street to appropriate neighborhood levels,
• improve the surrounding environment by incorporating landscaping in the project,
• upgrade pedestrian and bicycle facilities
• improve street drainage
To achieve these goals, the city obtained a federal grant for designing traffic calming and pedestrian enhancements to the street to reduce the traffic volumes and speeds and improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists.
 

Testing Period: Temporary tests of traffic calming devices were placed on Fifth Street so residents could see how the project would look and operate. In 1995, after widening a major arterial street (Priest Drive) and opening the Loop 202 freeway entrance, traffic counts on Fifth Street were nearly 10,000 autos per day. The test included narrowed lanes, traffic diverters and traffic chokers, which cut traffic by 40 percent to 6,000 autos per day. Following a successful test period, the city designed, with the help of neighborhood input, and constructed permanent traffic calming and artist-designed features. Artwork was designed by Kevin Berry.
 

Neighborhood Input: The Fifth Street Project demonstrates the commitment and dedication between the city of Tempe and its citizens in promoting aesthetically-pleasing, environmentally-friendly transportation alternatives while making Tempe a more livable community. The city conducted numerous neighborhood meetings to obtain neighborhood input regarding the project. City staff also met with local businesses, schools and property owners.