Prescott staff recommend all‑way stop at Granite Street; McCormick not warranted

Prescott City staff presented the Willis Street Traffic and Warrant Study at the June 24 study session and recommended installing an all‑way stop at the Granite Street intersection but not at the McCormick Street intersection. The study also concluded a full traffic signal at Granite did not meet applicable warrants, and it recommended a package of short‑term improvements including refreshed pavement markings, new high‑visibility crosswalks, added signage and ADA curb‑ramp work.

The study, prepared by Burgess and Naipaul and presented by Alyssa Whitten, senior traffic engineer for the consultant, analyzed the segment of Willis Street between McCormick and Montezuma and focused on intersections at McCormick, Granite and the Greenways Trail crossing. "We evaluated five warrant criteria as found in the MUTCD. We found that all‑way stop control was warranted at Willis Street Granite Street intersection. However, it was not warranted at the McCormick Street intersection," Whitten said. She also said the team evaluated whether a traffic signal at Granite would be warranted and found it was not.

Why it matters: the study addresses growing pedestrian and vehicle use downtown as new businesses and the nearby hotel have increased activity. City staff said short‑term measures can reduce the chance of crashes and improve pedestrian comfort while longer‑term capital work is planned. "This will allow us to reduce the pedestrian crossing distance across Willis Street and increase visibility," the study concluded about bumping out curb ramps at Granite.

What the study measured and found: staff collected vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle counts and used them for stop‑control and signal warrant analyses. Average daily traffic on the Willis segment was measured at just over 7,000 vehicles. Speed data showed 85th‑percentile speeds of about 25 miles per hour and roughly 1 percent of vehicles traveled over 35 mph. Crash data pulled from the Arizona Department of Transportation database for the most recent five‑year period showed about 80 percent of crashes had no reported injury, no fatal crashes in that window, and more than half were angle or left‑turn crashes — a common pattern for intersection collisions.

The Greenways Trail crossing and the RRFB: the study examined the rectangular rapid‑flashing beacon (RRFB) at the Greenways Trail crossing and recommended removing it after field observations. Whitten noted pedestrians often staged out of the visible sight lines and, during the team’s field review, users tended to wait for gaps in traffic rather than pushing the RRFB. "We did not observe users pushing the RRFB; they waited for a gap and navigated the crossing," Whitten said. Federal Highway Administration and ADOT guidance about uncontrolled crossings was cited in the study’s recommendation. City staff said they will consider the RRFB recommendation (removal) but that engineering judgment and local preference could lead the city to retain it while making other short‑term improvements.

Short‑term recommendations and next steps: staff proposed a short‑term package to be implemented from existing budget and on‑call contracts. Short‑term items include refreshed pavement markings, new high‑visibility crosswalks on all four legs of Granite Street, new curb‑ramp truncated domes and targeted vegetation trimming that obstructs sidewalks. The study also recommended relocating a confusing ‘‘T intersection’’ sign on the McCormick bridge and adjusting stop bar placement on the south leg so drivers stop at the natural stopping point.

Longer‑term work: the report documents longer‑term options such as rebuilding curb ramps, bump‑outs and potential bridge/Greenways improvements. Staff said those items require project funding and coordination across divisions; estimated short‑term implementation costs are modest (staff estimated a rough range of about $5,000–$6,000 for the immediate striping, signing and trimming work), while curb reconstruction and curb‑bulb projects would be larger and follow capital project programming.

Public outreach and implementation: staff told the council they will coordinate communications with downtown businesses and run public notices before changes are installed. The presentation noted peak‑hour pedestrian counts at Granite — roughly 15 pedestrians during the highest morning hour and 25 during the highest evening hour in the counts presented — and recommended temporary warning signs be posted in advance of any new stop control to alert drivers.

No formal council action was taken at the study session. Staff said they will proceed with implementing short‑term safety measures under existing department budgets and contracts and will bring any larger capital work forward for review and funding later.

Whitten presented the technical findings and field observations to the council; Ian Mattingly, the city’s transportation manager, and other staff answered council members’ questions on data collection timing, projected traffic growth and coordination with ongoing downtown planning efforts. Mattingly noted the city will consider the consultant recommendations together with operational adjustments to the Willis‑Montezuma signal to avoid creating new backups while improving safety.

The council did not vote on the study at this meeting. Staff said they will return with updates as short‑term measures are installed and as the downtown/SIMPO planning work defines longer‑term projects.