The Reverse Lanes Are Outdated. Here's Why It's Time for Phoenix to Move On.
For decades, the reversible lanes on 7th Avenue and 7th Street have been a daily frustration for drivers, a danger to pedestrians and cyclists, and a barrier to local businesses. As Phoenix grows into a more multimodal, connected city, these lanes are increasingly out of sync with the city's transportation and safety goals.
A Quick History
The reverse lanes—also known as “suicide lanes” by many locals—were introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s during a time of rapid suburban expansion. They were initially pitched as a low-cost solution to peak-hour traffic: lanes that could switch direction to move more cars during rush hour. But they were also part of a broader strategy to facilitate car-centric commuting patterns and enable suburban flight, often at the expense of urban neighborhoods.
As noted by EndReverseLanes.com, the reverse lanes were never designed with community health, walkability, or small business vitality in mind. They were built in an era that prioritized getting suburban commuters through the city as quickly as possible, even if that meant hindering access for local residents.
These lanes were designed before we had:
Modern traffic signal coordination
A robust light rail system
Protected bike lanes
A downtown economy that depends on walkability and small business foot traffic
In short, Phoenix has changed—but the reverse lanes haven’t.
Other Arizona cities have adapted: Tucson, for example, once had reversible lanes on multiple major roads but opted to phase them out entirely by 2004 in favor of safer, more accessible street design. Phoenix should be doing the same.
What’s Wrong with the Reverse Lanes?
The problems are real, and they’re not just about inconvenience:
They’re dangerous: With no physical barrier and infrequent and confusing signage, the reverse lanes have contributed to head-on collisions, driver confusion, and aggressive behavior. (abc15.com)
They limit access: Businesses along 7th Avenue and 7th Street report reduced visibility, dangerous turn movements, and lost customers. (azcentral.com)
They block progress: As the city works to build out its bike network, add bus-only lanes, and improve walkability, the reverse lanes stand in the way of making these corridors truly economically viable and multimodal. They’re essentially “stroads” on steroids.
Image: A traffic incident that occurred in the reverse lane on 7th Street in midtown Phoenix
Photo by Nicole Rodriguez
What the Data Says
Crash Risk: According to Strong Towns PHX, using ADOT crash data, the 7s have twice the crash rate of comparable arterials.
Utilization Rates: A 2024 ASU study found the reverse lanes are significantly underutilized, with as little as 6% usage in some segments during peak periods, well below what would justify the operational complexity.
Delay with Reverse Lanes: Strong Town PHX found that the high frequency of crashes adds a staggering delay of 15 minutes daily.
Crash Hotspots: Five of Phoenix's top 100 most dangerous intersections are along the reverse lane corridors (MAG 2014–2018 data, City of Phoenix).
In addition to the technical data, lived experiences and community voices have been equally compelling. Jamie Trufin, a current board member of the Urban Phoenix Project, wrote in an op-ed for The Arizona Republic that the reverse lanes "feel like a holdover from a time when speed was the only goal," and emphasized that these lanes "serve the few at the cost of the many."
The City Keeps Studying. Residents Already Know.
Since 2023, a coalition of residents, traffic engineers, and business owners renewed the call on the city to abolish the reverse lanes. After initial meetings with Streets and Planning staff, the city proposed a study, but it has faced repeated delays and shifting goals.
The most recent draft scope of work, released in March 2025, frames the study around 2050 traffic projections. That’s 25 years away.
We believe Phoenix residents deserve answers now — not a generation from now. It’s whether they’re helping—or hurting—us in 2025.
And some of you may be asking, “What about the City’s 2021 reverse lane study?”.
The City of Phoenix did complete a study of the reserves lanes in 2021 using pre-pandemic 2018 traffic data. But that study raised serious concerns from the reverse lane coalition—questions that still haven’t been answered. To list a few of the red flags:
Why wasn’t the City’s reverse lane study certified by a licensed engineer?
Did the consulting firm for the study, Burgess & Niple, label the document a “Technical Memorandum” instead of a formal study to avoid the requirement for engineering certification?
Who was the Engineer of Record? There should be a licensed Burgess & Niple engineer identified on the 2021 reverse lane study.
Is Burgess & Niple distancing itself from accountability for the study’s conclusions?
Did the consultant omit or misrepresent any information that could impact public health and safety?
The study also shows signs of bias, and traffic engineering experts who have reviewed it have raised concerns about the reliability of its data projections. The study recommends keeping the reverse lanes, and the City of Phoenix “is considering how the [study] recommendations can be integrated” (City of Phoenix).
Yard sign for signing petition to end the reverse lanes. Photo by Nicole Rodriguez
We Don’t Need Another Study to Know The Lanes Don’t Work
Even the City’s own 2021 study acknowledges that the reverse lanes no longer comply with modern federal safety standards under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Yet despite this, the study proposes keeping the reverse lanes in place—just with costly technological upgrades.
According to City staff at a community meeting in July 2024, those upgrades would require a minimum of $100 million to retrofit the 7s with illuminated “digital” signage and other systems. That’s money that could be spent on bus shelters, crosswalks, bike lanes, street shade, and road repaving.
Digital signage would also bring new concerns—specifically light trespass and glare into adjacent homes, creating both livability and environmental impacts that haven’t been fully addressed.
Where will the money to upgrade come from? Likely from recently voter-approved Proposition 479, where the 7s reverse lane sections are to receive a “Reconstruct Roadway” starting about 2030 per a recent community update by the Maricopa Community of Governments (MAG).
Worse, these lanes exist only on 7th Avenue and 7th Street—even though they’re not the highest-volume corridors in Central Phoenix. Why are we considering spending millions to preserve an outdated system that doesn’t even apply equitably across the city?
Additionally, Strong Towns PHX found that traffic volumes on the 7s have remained flat or declined since 2019, while the number of people walking, biking, and riding transit in Phoenix continues to rise. The reverse lanes are solving a problem from the past, not the present—or the future.
National Attention: Even CityNerd Weighed In
In June 2024, the Urban Phoenix Project hosted Ray Delahanty—better known as CityNerd—one of the country’s most influential urbanism YouTubers, with a dedicated audience of transportation professionals, planners, and advocates. With a professional background in traffic engineering, Ray delivered what was arguably Phoenix’s first national-level critique of the city’s reversible lane system.
His video, Phoenix: The Good, the Bad, and the Mildly Dystopian, garnered nearly 300,000 views and over 14,000 likes, offering a rare, outsider’s perspective. While he praised downtown Phoenix’s walkability improvements, his evaluation of the 7th Avenue and 7th Street reverse lanes was blunt and illuminating. He called the system outdated and dangerous—an infrastructure relic that prioritizes throughput over safety and livability.
CityNerd’s analysis didn’t just resonate locally—it spread nationally. It validated years of community concern and equipped Phoenix residents and advocates with clear, accessible language to describe the problem. The video became a widely shared resource in policy circles, bolstering further calls for reform with fresh momentum.
A Vision That Works for Everyone
The reverse lanes violate Phoenix's Complete Streets Policy and Phoenix’s Road Safety Action Plan. These policies emphasize safety, access, and equity for all users—not just commuters in cars.
These lanes represent an outdated approach to traffic flow that hinders, not complements, Phoenix's transportation goals.
Instead, we should invest in:
Safer intersections
Bike and bus lanes
ADA-compliant sidewalks
Shade trees and street-level business access
Phoenix has outgrown the reverse lanes. Now it’s time our streets reflect that.
Join the Movement
Momentum is building. More than 4,000 residents—from lifelong neighborhood advocates to new transplants who want better connectivity and safer street design—have signed the petition to end the reverse lanes. That’s 4,000 people standing up for safer streets, stronger small businesses, and a smarter vision for Phoenix. Every signature sends a clear message: this is not a fringe issue—it's a citywide priority.
Add your voice and join the growing coalition calling for change at EndReverseLanes.com.
Take Action:
Email your council member: Find your Phoenix council district and contact info here
Attend any upcoming meetings (sign up for UPP’s newsletter to stay up to date on public meetings regarding the reverse lanes)
As the author of this piece, I’ve lived just a stone’s throw from 7th Street for the past 15 years, and before that, I lived near 7th Avenue for almost four years. These corridors have been a part of my daily life, and I’ve seen firsthand the disruption, danger, and design flaws the reverse lanes cause.
People boarding a Valley Metro bus, route 7, in the early morning along the 7th Street sidewalk near Weldon Ave. Too many Phoenix sidewalks have accessibility obstructions and obstacles. Photo by Travis Tomich
