Phoenix city council rejects petition against reverse lanes

The Phoenix City Council unanimously voted in favor of a motion for a comprehensive study that will be presented to a subcommittee “by December 2026.”

PHOENIX — Business owners, neighbors, students, parents, bike riders, and citizens participated in public comment for multiple hours at the Phoenix City Council meeting on May 21 in support of a petition against reverse lanes in Phoenix.

The city council voted unanimously against the petition and in favor of a motion proposed by Councilwoman Laura Pastor, which asks for a comprehensive study of traffic in the area and may not yield any changes until 2026. 

The motion all the council members voted for includes the following:

The Phoenix City Council was presented with a request to take down the reserve lane signage located around central Phoenix after an online petition accumulated over 4,000 signatures.

The city’s reverse lanes, also referred to by locals as “suicide lanes,” have been in place for decades, and opponents of the traffic system say they no longer fit with the growing development around the downtown region.

During the morning and afternoon peak hours, the road’s left-turn lanes become a reversible lane to decrease traffic congestion. The concept was introduced in the late 1970s before freeways like State Route 51 were completed.

Stacey Champion, a local road safety advocate, spoke before the council previously to present her citizens’ petition for discontinuing the “outdated” rush-hour reverse lanes.

“(The reverse lanes) cause people to cut through neighborhoods, use parking lots to cut through, make dangerous U-turns and create a dangerous situation for everyone in their vicinity,” Champion told the council.

Several individuals commented on the online petition about how the reverse lanes are “confusing” and “not needed.”

A few years ago, a study conducted by the city concluded that eliminating the reversible lanes would “create operational delays” and potentially “increase travel times.”

“Operations along parallel north-south arterials, including Central Avenue, 15th Avenue and 12th Street, will deteriorate if the reversible lanes on 7th Street and 7th Avenue are eliminated,” the study states.

The city charter allows any Phoenix resident to present a written petition to the council and “such petition shall be acted upon by the Council in the regular course of business, within fifteen (15) days.”

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