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Tempe proposes 5 mph cuts on seven corridors to improve safety; second hearing set for May 14
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Summary
Transportation staff proposed reducing posted speeds by 5 mph on seven Tempe corridors after crash and land‑use analysis; the Transportation Commission and multiple neighborhood groups weighed in and a second hearing is scheduled for May 14, 2026.
Tempe transportation staff presented a proposal on May 1 to reduce posted speed limits by 5 miles per hour on seven corridors citywide, citing crash history, land-use changes, and multimodal activity tied to recent development.
Transportation and Sustainability Director Eric Iverson summarized the review, describing three main factors for the recommendations: roadway environment, adjacent land use and multimodal activity, and crash history. Micromapping of each corridor included five years of crash data (2020–2024). For example, staff reported that two Broadway Road segments had nearly 700 crashes over five years, including 17 serious-injury or fatal crashes in that period.
Support and concerns: The Transportation Commission voted unanimously to forward the seven corridors after public outreach; self-identified Tempe respondents to the city survey supported the changes by a majority. The Tempe Bicycle Action Group and other advocacy voices urged the council to pass the reduced limits and follow with engineering changes to make streets safer for people walking and biking. Some residents expressed worries about enforcement, marginal commute-time increases and whether speed-limit changes alone will be effective without engineering improvements.
Next step: The council did not adopt the changes on May 1; staff scheduled a second and final public hearing for May 14, 2026. Staff said posted speed changes are intended as a first step and that fines or enforcement revenue, if any, should be reinvested in the corridors for design improvements.
Data note: Staff and engineers highlighted that reducing speeds by a few miles per hour is correlated with lower fatality risk and that many of the recommended corridors have seen rising pedestrian and bicycle traffic as Tempe densified. Public feedback included nearly 670 survey responses overall; among self-identified Tempe respondents, 53% supported the recommendations.
