PHOENIX — Reverse lanes on the "Sevens", that's 7th Avenue and 7th Street, have been a controversial City of Phoenix initiative for years.
Now, a petition to get rid of them Operation Safe Roads reported on previously has reached over 4,000 signatures online, and has been presented to the City Council.
"They function basically like a highway, and we don't need highways running through our neighborhoods," Stacey Champion, who led the petition said.
The lanes function by making the middle lane southbound only traffic in the morning, and northbound only in the evening.
According to the city, reverse lanes have been in place on 7th Avenue and 7th Street since 1979 and 1982, and were created to address traffic concerns as Phoenix was growing its downtown core.
Despite now having state highways like the 51 and 202, the reverse lanes remain. Decades after they were first implemented, drivers also still frequently don't follow the rules. In a span of 15 minutes at the corner of 7th Avenue and Heatherbrae Drive, multiple drivers are going the wrong way in the reverse lane, or parked in them attempting to turn.
"They're too dangerous to keep," Champion said.
Bill Sandweg's business, Copper Star Coffee, is also on the corner of 7th Avenue and Heatherbrae.
"One of my customers is involved in an accident every six months," Sandweg said.
He also signed the petition to get rid of the reverse lanes, saying they're hard on local businesses as when they're in effect, they can make turning difficult and other customers simply avoid the "Sevens" during reverse lane hours.
"The reverse lanes are an anachronism, they're an old technology," Sandweg said. "These things were built before the 51, before the 202, before work from home."
The City of Phoenix did a study in 2021 looking at what the impacts would be if they got rid of the reverse lanes. The study found it would increase travel times during rush hour by 40% or more, and also make intersections more congested and prone to crashes.
But Champion says the study's findings don't match what she sees on the 'Sevens' every work day.
"You don't need any more studies," Champion said. "Because you can stand on any corner basically along the rush hour reverse lanes and see people screw up."
The City Council told Champion they would respond to her petition at their upcoming meeting on May 21.