Attachment B - BUILD Grant Award

Agenda Date: 11/4/2020, Item No. 12
Better Utilizing Infrastructure Leveraging Development 2020 Grant Award - 35th
Avenue Safety Corridor Project
This report provides an update to the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation
Subcommittee on the U.S. Department of Transportation Better Utilizing Infrastructure
Leveraging Development (BUILD) 2020 Grant Award. Phoenix was awarded nearly
$17.5 million to make safety and technology improvements to the 35th Avenue corridor
between Interstate 10 (I-10) and Camelback Road.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
Summary
The BUILD grant is an extremely competitive process. Receiving a national grant to
improve multimodal safety on one of Phoenix’s busiest roadways by implementing
innovative technology is an exciting opportunity for the City of Phoenix. The Project
area, 35th Avenue between I-10 and Camelback Road, serves students and families
that walk, bike and use transit daily.
This highly utilized 3.2-mile section of roadway has between 24,000 and 35,000
vehicles per day. The 35th Avenue corridor currently serves about 250 small
businesses and 8,000 employees across a wide spectrum of business sectors,
including manufacturing and distribution. It is also one of the City's highest transit
ridership areas with an average of 5,200 daily riders. Diverse land uses across the
35th Avenue corridor include multi-family residential, commercial and industrial
developments, multiple K-12 schools, two community parks and the campus of Grand
Canyon University.
Receiving this BUILD grant award leverages and supports the City’s Transportation
2050 (T2050) Plan since this portion of 35th Avenue has been identified as a T2050
Safety Corridor and is also a major public transit corridor. Between I-10 and
Camelback Road, 35th Avenue has been identified as a pedestrian safety ‘hot spot’
where a higher number of pedestrian-related collisions and injuries have occurred in
recent years. Project improvements will include increased lighting, signalized mid-
block crossings and raised medians, which will contribute to overall safety, especially
for pedestrians.
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Attachment B
Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation 
Subcommittee
Report

Agenda Date: 11/4/2020, Item No. 12
Further, with the population of residents adjacent to the 35th Avenue corridor being
predominantly young (33 percent of the population is under the age of 18) and likely to
attend one of the 10 K-12 schools in the corridor, the project improvements will also
address providing safe access to schools in the area.
The BUILD grant requires a local match of $7.5 million, which the City will fund using a
combination of T2050 revenues and Arizona Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF).
The initial grant award triggers a series of next steps, including environmental surveys
and pre-design activities. Design of the project is anticipated to start in spring 2021,
with construction anticipated to start in late 2022 with a goal of completing construction
in early 2025.
35th Avenue Safety Corridor Project Improvements
The 35th Avenue Safety Corridor Project consists of improvements that advance
safety, mobility and economic development in the project area. A visual overview is
included in Attachment A. Targeted improvements include:
·
Installing three new pedestrian hybrid beacons (illuminated pedestrian-activated
signals) along 35th Avenue at or near the Coronado Road, Grand Canal Multi-Use
Path and Turney Avenue intersections to increase mid-block pedestrian crossing
opportunities;
·
Installing raised medians at various locations throughout the project corridor to
provide greater vehicle separation and a safe refuge to pedestrians without
restricting existing traffic movements;
·
Rebuilding nine signalized intersections to modern standards that allow for support
of new traffic technologies and safer operations;
·
Installing LED street lighting along the west side of 35th Avenue, completing dual-
sided lighting throughout the corridor and improving safety for drivers and
pedestrians;
·
Milling and overlaying the pavement between McDowell Road and Camelback
Road to provide a smooth driving surface and reduce future maintenance needs;
·
Installing broadband fiber optic cable to improve the corridor’s capacity for data
sharing and allowing for the future integration of autonomous and innovative
technologies; and
·
Updating traffic signal programming to improve roadway efficiency. Traffic signal
optimization can reduce travel times by nearly 20 percent, potentially saving 90,000
hours for commuters annually.
Financial Impact
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Agenda Date: 11/4/2020, Item No. 12
The BUILD grant requires a local match of $7.5 million, which the City will fund using
T2050 revenues and HURF.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The City Council authorized the application for and acceptance of the ‘Better Utilizing
Investments to Leverage Development’ Grant (Ordinance S-46531) on April 15, 2020.
Location
35th Avenue between I-10 and Camelback Road
Council Districts: 4 and 5
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street
Transportation Department.
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OVERVIEW OF 35TH AVENUE SAFETY CORRIDOR PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS 
PHB = Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon 
Similar to a HAWK, this is a type of pedestrian-activated signal at a crosswalk that alerts drivers to stop when someone intends to cross. 
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