If you take a look at page 1A of this week’s paper, you’ll find that street safety is still very much a top priority for the Town Council. Spurred on by a cluster of tragic incidents in 2018, recent efforts to improve street safety have included everything from lit stop signs and rumble strips at key intersections to additional sidewalk infill in areas with heavier pedestrian traffic.

One of the more recent measures to make local streets safer was the establishment of safety corridors along Saguaro and Palisades boulevards in the downtown area. This week’s paper includes an update from MCSO on the impact of those safety corridors, which have resulted in more than 250 citations in the two months since they’ve been established.

Another upcoming project is a crosswalk to be established on Saguaro near Desert Vista Park. The area has plenty of pedestrian traffic, but currently no designated location to cross one of the town’s busiest streets. The Town Council this past week gave staff the go-ahead to get the ball rolling on a crossing with a manual signal that would give drivers advance notice that someone is heading across the street.

Finally, the council recently heard an update concerning the Active Transportation Plan, a long-term project targeting primarily pedestrian and bicycle needs around the community.

The Town Council and staff have achieved a lot of their goals concerning street safety in recent years and, with all of these additional projects rolling along, here’s to even safer streets in the years ahead.