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Councilman Greg Stanton
Arcadia News Column
April 2007
Pedestrian-Friendly Camelback Underpass Ready for Crossings
A great city is a pedestrian-friendly city. Providing safe places for residents to walk is part of the essence of a livable city. With so many shopping, eating and living destinations, the Camelback Corridor and surrounding Arcadia neighborhoods are the perfect places to create walkable havens. The upcoming opening of the Camelback Underpass project shows work toward these goals in action.
For the past several months, Camelback Road, near the Biltmore Fashion Park and Camelback Esplanade, has been under construction to build this underpass that is located between 24th and 26th streets. The underpass is 85 feet long, 32 feet wide and about nine feet tall.
The project offers an inviting, safe and memorable experience for pedestrians crossing the street in the popular Camelback Road area. The timing of the underpass is the perfect complement to the Biltmore Fashion Park’s exceptional redesign, with crews adding pedestrian enhancements - better sidewalks and walkways and a connection to the underpass.
The work around the intersection includes larger pedestrian waiting areas, brighter crosswalk striping and shade structures at the corners of 20th and 24th streets. In addition, Camelback Road has been resurfaced with rubberized asphalt to reduce traffic noise and vibration while inside the underpass. This will be a great help for all shoppers in the area, including seniors and people with disabilities.
The walls of the underpass are backlit glass blocks and the ceiling has glass tiles with a skylight in the center to provide natural lighting. The floor will be covered with terrazzo tile to look like a carpet. The pattern, designed by a husband-wife team, features 160 butterflies in a field of flowers and consists of 13 different colors. One side of the underpass connects to the Biltmore’s parking lot and the other to a fountain in front of the Esplanade on the south side of Camelback Road.
I want to thank all involved with creating this pedestrian-friendly space, including our Street Transportation Department, businesses and residents. We held numerous public meetings, engaging community groups like the Citizen Advisory Committee, the Arizona Biltmore Estates Village Association and the Biltmore Area Partnership. With nearly 2,000 pedestrians crossing daily, the Camelback Underpass is a welcomed addition to the area.
The grand opening and unveiling event will take place soon. For more information, visit
www.camelback-pedestrian-underpass.com or call my office at 602-262-7491.
We are committed to making Phoenix a more pedestrian-friendly city and the opening of the Camelback Underpass is great progress toward that goal.
Phoenix City Councilman Greg Stanton represents Arcadia and is a member of the City Council Public Safety and Veterans Issues Subcommittee. Contact Councilman Stanton's office at 602-262-7491, e-mail greg.stanton@phoenix.gov or visit phoenix.gov/district6.
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