I remember walking around downtown Tempe in the summer of 1979 as construction was underway to widen the sidewalks, add the trees along Mill Avenue and remove the striping that provided for on-street parking. At one point, I walked to get my mail at the post office, passing a 20-foot-high pile of dirt in a construction zone that I would have sworn had been there for a year, and I remember thinking to myself, "What the heck are those guys at the city thinking, the street was just fine before all this mess!"
Well, 23 years later, I am one of "those guys." Mill Avenue and the downtown area are undergoing some significant changes again. To many, the improvements might not seem to make any sense at all, so allow me to explain a bit of the thinking and study that resulted in the current Downtown Tempe Advancement Plan.
The Downtown Tempe Community developed the plan. This group of Tempe residents and business owners consulted with the International Downtown Association and others familiar with successful downtown environments from coast to coast. They presented the plan to the city council, and it was adopted for implementation. The most visible recommendation sure to raise questions is the return of on-street parking along Mill Avenue and Fifth Street.
Truthfully, I had to be persuaded that putting parking back along Mill Avenue and Fifth Street would really help turn around the decline in sales-tax revenue from businesses downtown and help improve the area as a great urban downtown destination.
And I was persuaded. Consultants and experts familiar with successful downtown areas across the country, one after another, comprehensively reviewed our downtown and came to a singular conclusion: our wonderful "living room" of the community had become the urban drive-thru experience of the Valley.
The speed of traffic along Mill Avenue had been steadily increasing, with little barrier between pedestrians strolling on those wonderful, wide, brick sidewalks and cars moving at up to 40 mph. The return of on-street parking will accomplish several goals of the downtown advancement plan.
First, it provides visible parking spaces. The perception that there is not parking in downtown is just that, a perception, but it is one we must address. Seeing people getting in and out of cars will be a reminder that ample parking is available. Second, it will reduce traffic speeds, making downtown a safe place for people to walk. Third, the physical barrier of parking along the street actually allows for us to add more sidewalk vendors and sidewalk cafes, something we want more of downtown.
One thing we knew for sure, as we contemplated the changes for downtown, was that doing nothing was not an option. Downtown must continue to evolve, change and respond to the needs of the times. I am convinced that restoring parking to the area will accomplish what we desire: a more pedestrian-friendly environment with additional cafes, shops and outdoor vending in an area of much slower traffic.
In sum, it will be an improved destination rather than the fastest way through downtown. Priest Drive and Rural Road will easily handle the additional cars that will now avoid Mill Avenue. And those coming to the area for all it offers will find an environment with more parking and a much more positive ambiance to enjoy while in downtown Tempe. See you there!
Neil Giuliano is the mayor of Tempe. Reach him at neil_giuliano@tempe.gov.
