But, like water, pedestrians often choose the path of least resistance. Tourist Cindy Lucas nonchalantly walked through moving traffic on March 10. She was about 50 feet from the mid-block crosswalk. “I’m from a small tourist town in Canada. Everybody does it,” she said. That same afternoon, in about a three-hour period, dozens of people jaywalked – even at the signalized crosswalk.

Further north at Apple Road is an unsignalized crosswalk where people crossed at will, again interrupting the flow of traffic. Several other unsignalized crosswalks were added during the enhancement project, but the one at Apple Road seems to cause the worst problems.

“People cross intermittently and sometimes only one or two cars can get through,” said Karen Dansby, one of several volunteer park rangers who regularly patrol Uptown on foot. The rangers mainly serve as ambassadors; their uniforms are not much deterrent, she said. “When it gets busy, it can take 1.5 hours to get from Dairy Queen [in Oak Creek Canyon] to here,” Ms. Dansby said.

Ticketing jaywalkers might seem a logical solution to some people, however the city currently has no authority to do so where it matters. The city does not currently have its own jaywalking ordinance. By default, the issue is subject to state law, which only allows citations for violations between signalized crosswalks. That means police can only cite jaywalkers between the ‘Y’ intersection and Forest Road, according to City Attorney Mike Goimarac.

Council members weren’t keen on citing tourists, anyway. They leaned toward kinder, gentler enforcement like more volunteers and possibly some police presence. Chief Joe Vernier seemed responsive to the idea of including some foot patrol in the police department’s field training program for new officers.

Some councilors suggested more extreme measures. Councilman Harvey Stearn, who strolls Uptown frequently for pleasure, said overhead pedestrian bridges should not be ruled out. Others suggested physical barriers like fences or cactus plants. Councilman Ramon Gomez pointed out that companies like Disneyland and United Airlines use creative methods to guide tourists to where they want to go.

Motorists

As for vehicle traffic, signage and access to parking are still major issues even after the new construction.

As stated previously, the city installed signs to direct motorists to the municipal parking lot and commercial lots. If the signs are too small, too high or too close to where drivers are supposed to turn, they don’t do much good. “Our sign ordinance sucks,” Vice Mayor Jerry Frey said in an interview March 12.

Most motorists seem to want parking on Hwy. 89A anyway. “Someone pulls up to wait for a car to back out of a space and the backer has to back right into traffic,” Mr. Stearn said. Before the enhancement project, incoming drivers could pull out of traffic to wait and parked drivers had room to back up without being in the roadway.

“[The city’s design consultant said [the narrower design] would work,” Mr. Stearn said. It didn’t. Now waiting drivers impede traffic behind them and the vehicle pulling out of the space has to back into the path of the cars trying to maneuver around the one waiting.

Before the enhancement project, southbound drivers looking to turn right onto Jordan Road had a little space to get out of the traffic lane. Now that space is part of the new sidewalk.

“We talked about all these design issues before the project was built,” Mr. Frey said. That was about three years and $3.6 million ago. Now, the council and city staff hope to find some short- and long-term solutions before this year’s six-to-eight week Spring Break season – historically the city’s busiest revenue season of the year.

© 2008 Cyndy Hardy. Printed by permission. All rights reserved.

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