Last week, we reported that town staff is considering actions to improve pedestrian safety at the Naranja Drive entrance to Naranja Park. At that time, we stated that we would report what we learned about this as we learned it. Our latest information is based on a March 5 memo to the Oro Valley Town Council from Public Works Director Paul Keesler.
Considering a “Gravity block retaining wall system” to separate pedestrians from cars on the south side of Naranja Drive
A gravity wall is a physical hard surface wall. Such would run along those sections on the south side of Naranja Drive where “pedestrians must use the hard shoulder due to the presence of a guardrail or steep adjacent slope.” There are four of these areas on Naranja Drive. Keesler’s memo does not specifically identify the park entrance area as one of these sections. But it is one. It is where the tragic March 17 accident occurred. Had a gravity wall been in place, the teens would not have been hit by the car because they would have been on the pedestrian side of the wall.
Construct a pedestrian connection for the “pinch point” on the north side of Naranja Drive this summer
There is a section on the north side of the Naranja Drive entrance where the town installed a vehicular right-turn lane. When they did that, the town eliminated the pedestrian walkway since they paved over it. The town did not make any allowance to accommodate the fact that pedestrians could no longer walk there. This summer, staff will construct “…a temporary pedestrian connection … from east of the right-turn lane into the Archery Range parking lot.” Had this been place on March 17, the teenagers could have used it to safely get to the unmarked crosswalk back to their grandparent’s home on Pomegranate Dr. They would never have been on Naranja Drive at all.
Studying adding other safety measures for those crossing Naranja Drive to the park like a HAWK light and crosswalks
There is no pedestrian controlled traffic light or a marked crosswalk at the park entrance. Town staff had decided against this for two reasons. One is that staff decided that it it would not be used very much. Second, and of much more importance, staff recognized that "The crossing would not end on a pedestrian facility on the south side of Naranja Drive, such as on a sidewalk or MUP system".
Staff is now reconsidering this decision. The gravity wall retaining system, which they will hopefully build, will create the “pedestrian facility” that does not now exist.
Studying a change in speed limit
Keesler’s memo states the staff is studying the speed limit for the park entrance section of the park. The current speed limit is 45 mph. There is a “cautionary” speed limit of 35mph as eastbound drivers approach the park entrance. There is no such sign as for westbound drivers. Keesler memo states “ Speed should be set on a thorough data- based evaluation, that is based on the 85th percentile speed profile.” We are not sure what that means. Frankly, the area needs to be designated similar to a school zone, marked and speed limited as such.
You need to act
Please contact any of the town council members to voice your support of improving pedestrian safety at the park entrance now. Let them know that waiting for a long term multi-use path solution simply will not do.
