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Street improvement projects coming to Sunnyslope community

Posted at 10:35 PM, Feb 07, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-08 06:56:30-05

Neighbors will soon feel safer walking in the Sunnyslope community as the city of Phoenix announced a pair of improvement projects coming to busy streets in the area.

Kyler Morrison is an avid bicyclist who typically rides four times a week around Mountain View Park.

"If there was a bike lane that came all the way up and a sidewalk that came all the way up, that would be great. Otherwise, we are fighting traffic, trying to stay off of the line... hoping not to get run off into the ditch," says Morrison.

Those are some of the issues that the city is hoping to fix.

One project they're working on is focused on Mountain View Road runs from 7th Avenue to 3rd Drive. The improvements will include a 10-foot-wide multi-use path, new sidewalks, and new streetlights.

Storee Alvidrez says she walks with her son there often and says this is long overdue.

"The lighting, especially on the outside perimeter, is not very... it doesn't bring me any kind of safe feelings. So, definitely, the lighting would help. The sidewalk in general would be helpful because they're riding their bikes up and down and it's obviously not safe," says Alvidrez.

The second part of that project is adding a new pedestrian crossing at 7th Avenue and Cheryl Drive. The hope is to help people safely cross the street, especially kids, who dart across the street constantly.

ABC15 was told there have been many close calls.

"I had to cross the street to get to school and couldn't see the cars because they were stopping in front because of the bus and one guy decided to run the stop sign and almost hit me," says one pedestrian.

Another project coming to Sunnyslope aims to enhance safety and accessibility for school children near Mountain View Elementary School.

The streets department will be making some of the same improvements, like new sidewalks, but it will be seen throughout a larger area.

Construction of both projects should begin this summer.

In the meantime, the city is taking community input on the current design plans, where neighbors can weigh in through an online survey by the end of the week.