The city of Phoenix is moving forward with a study that would determine the effectiveness of a pedestrian mall on Adams Street between Second Street and Central Avenue.
The city council has allocated $73,060 for one year of consulting with the architectural firm Gensler for the Adams Street Activation Study. The council hopes to stimulate the economy of the Adams Street corridor by increasing connections between pedestrians and businesses, properties and mixed-use projects.
The study comes just months after Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski began visiting neighborhood groups with the idea of transforming First Street between Margaret T. Hance Park and the U.S. Airways Center into a pedestrian mall with themed sections.
Gensler was closely involved with the revitalization of the Phoenix Convention Center in 2008, but the downtown area has changed significantly since then. With more destination locations in the area, more people are walking.
“What’s happening is there’s a connectivity; people are traveling from the Convention Center over to mixed-use projects like CityScape or up to the Sheraton Hotel and others,” said Joni Lindsey, the project management assistant from the City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department. “That’s created a pedestrian corridor.”
Lindsey is one of the city officials collecting community feedback along with Gensler to develop a final report, which would be used for implementation after completion of the study. In April, the city and Gensler interviewed stakeholders and held two charrettes, which were meetings for any members of the community to attend and give input. The demographic of the attendees at the charrettes ranged from artists to business owners, and most agreed on similar concepts.
Some said that closing the street off from cars entirely was a good idea, but added that the study should focus on ways to make the section of Adams Street more aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian-friendly without requiring full closure.
Greg Freed, the general manager at Tom’s Tavern Bar and 1929 Grill in the Renaissance Square, is optimistic about the idea but is concerned about the approach the city and Gensler could take to activate the area.
“I have seen walkways and plazas work,” Freed said. “Kansas City has a great plaza downtown that people drive to from the suburbs to see.”
But hefty construction plans could put a toll on businesses.
Freed said the construction of the light rail disrupted businesses badly, and even shut some down.
“Our retail and restaurant outlets heavily depend on pedestrian traffic,” said Luis Guerra, a navigator at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel.
Guerra said there are many opportunities for foot traffic, but downtown is not very welcoming to pedestrians.
The city plans to hold another charrette, at which time planners will present concept ideas based on the input from the community. The date has not yet been announced.
Contact the reporter at jjprice2@asu.edu
