Council directs staff to proceed with Extension Road separated and buffered bike lanes; mill-and‑overlay scheduled for 2025

Eric Guderian, assistant transportation director, presented a proposal to install separated and buffered bicycle facilities on Extension Road from Baseline Road to Main Street, connecting parks, schools and the light‑rail area.

The proposal grew from a 2021 direction to pursue lower‑cost enhanced bike lanes on collector streets. Staff said Extension Road was chosen because it is a long, continuous collector that lacks north‑south protected routes and because nearby arterials (Alma School Road and Country Club Drive) are unlikely to receive bike lanes in the near term.

Project approach and design choices

- Lane configuration: Extension today is a four‑lane collector (two lanes each direction) with a continuous center turn lane. Staff proposed converting the corridor to an asymmetrical cross section by removing one northbound travel lane while keeping two southbound lanes and the center turn lane; traffic analyses indicated the street would still operate within acceptable levels, with the greatest delay forecast near schools and the Southern Avenue intersection.

- Bike lane types: the design differentiates a buffered striped bike lane and a physically separated bike lane. Staff said the majority of the corridor would receive separated bike lanes with vertical delineators (where practical), while sections constrained by the railroad crossing and heavy industrial access north of Broadway would use buffered (painted) bike lanes.

- Maintenance and engineering constraints: staff said their smallest street sweeper requires an 8‑foot horizontal clearance; that requirement drove the decision not to use vertical curbs in many locations, because debris collection and maintenance access would otherwise be compromised. The planned delineator spacing is about 20 feet with pullbacks at driveways and intersections.

Public outreach, schedule and costs

Staff described prior outreach: a public meeting in spring 2022, an online survey and interviews. They said the corridor serves activity centers including the Fiesta District, Ida Redbird Elementary, Kleinman Park and the light‑rail area. A mill and overlay is scheduled for 2025; staff requested direction to order materials and proceed with striping and delineator installation following the resurfacing.

Council discussion and direction

Council members asked about bus routing (no fixed‑route bus service runs the full corridor), emergency response implications and industrial truck access in the corridor north of Broadway. Several council members voiced support for the project as a pilot for similar collector‑street improvements elsewhere in Mesa. One council member requested targeted outreach to businesses on the stretch that sees heavier truck traffic.

Outcome

Council gave staff direction to proceed with the plan as presented and to return with follow‑up details as needed. The presentation will be implemented using operational funds tied to the 2025 mill‑and‑overlay project; no new capital appropriation was adopted at the meeting.