PHOENIX — Phoenix city council members voted unanimously to conduct another study on the controversial reverse lanes on 7th Avenue and 7th Street, despite a petition with over 5,000 virtual signatures calling for their removal.
The council’s decision came after more than an hour of public comment from people concerned about road safety on the “Sevens”.
Before the petition was heard by the council, our Operation Safe Roads team watched drivers not follow reverse lanes rules during rush hours.
Despite these concerns, council members chose not to eliminate the reverse lanes but instead approved a new study to examine their effectiveness and safety.
“I think we need more data,” Debra Stark, District 3 council member, said.
Stacey Champion, who started the petition to end the reverse lanes, said the decision was frustrating.
“The city has sacrificed speed and convenience over safety for long enough,” Champion said during public comment.
The reverse lanes operate during weekday rush hours, with the middle lane becoming southbound only in the morning and northbound only in the evening.
Champion argues that despite being in place for decades, many drivers still don’t understand or follow the rules.
“There’s a lot of speeding, aggressive driving, honking, and chaos,” Champion said. “These are the only two streets in this massive city that have completely different rules than every other street.”
The most recent city study on reverse lanes was completed in 2021 and concluded that eliminating them would increase commute times by 40%.
Council Member Stark defended the lanes in the meeting, saying in some instances they improve safety.
“Because the intersections are not being utilized for left turns, they become safer. And it does move traffic,” Stark said.
As the city begins its new study, Champion says simply going out to a street corner during rush hour would show council the street safety issue.
“I think any person can come out, drive the streets, look with their own eyeballs, and see what is happening,” Champion said.
The Street Transportation Department is expected to present the study’s results by December 2026.
