Mesa moves forward with protected bike‑lane pilot on Extension Road; council gives direction to proceed

Eric Guderian, assistant transportation director, asked council for direction on an operational project to add enhanced bike lanes along Extension Road from Baseline to Main Street following a previously directed citywide review of lower‑cost bike lane projects.

Guderian said the corridor is roughly 2.5 miles and currently functions as a four‑lane collector with a center turn lane; traffic counts peak at about 14,000 vehicles per day in segments of the road. The staff proposal includes two primary design approaches: - Separated bike lanes (protected by spaced vertical delineators) through the corridor’s more activity‑intensive stretches (parks, schools and the Fiesta area). Guderian said the delineators would be spaced roughly every 20 feet and that placement would pull back at driveways and intersections. - Buffered bike lanes (striped buffer only) for segments north of Broadway where a railroad crossing and heavier industrial truck activity make reconfiguring lanes and vertical protection impractical.

The recommended cross‑section for the main segment would preserve a center turn lane, maintain two southbound travel lanes and reduce the northbound side to a single travel lane, providing room for a wider, protected northbound bike lane. Guderian said the city’s smallest street sweeper requires 8 feet of horizontal clearance, a maintenance constraint that helped determine whether vertical delineators were appropriate in particular locations.

Council members asked about operational impacts and safety near schools and industrial driveways. Vice Mayor Summers and several council members called for outreach to businesses on the north end of the corridor, noting heavy truck activity there. Some members said they want the project to serve as a pilot that could be adapted for other collector streets and eventually extended to the stadium connector.

Guderian said a city mill‑and‑overlay maintenance project is scheduled for 2025, which creates a near‑term opportunity to add striping and delineators with lower capital cost; staff requested council direction to proceed with ordering materials and incorporating the striping into the pavement work. Several council members expressed support and the meeting record shows staff received direction to move forward; no formal ordinance or capital appropriation was approved at the meeting.

The presentation included visual examples of separated lanes, buffered lanes and intersections with delineators. Staff noted delineators are effective and comparatively low cost but require a maintenance plan because they concentrate debris and can be damaged by vehicles. For the railroad crossing stretch and industrial north end between Broadway and Main, staff proposed buffered paint only to avoid creating conflicts with truck access and rail operations.

Guderian invited additional community comments and said staff will follow up on concerns about school drop‑off queuing, truck access and timing for implementation tied to the 2025 mill‑and‑overlay schedule.