Did you know a $17.5 million overhaul of the road you drive every day is heading for a Council vote on March 26? New chicane obstacles, narrowed lanes, and landscaped medians β and most residents don't know it's coming.
The town's own documents reveal a project with serious safety concerns, a ballooning budget, and a rushed timeline that has left most residents in the dark.
The redesign installs chicane obstacles that force drivers to weave, while shrinking travel lanes from today's 10.5β11 ft down to just 9.5 feet in some places.
Consider: the mirrors on large trucks regularly extend to 10.5 feet wide. After this redesign, those mirrors would extend into the bike lane β where kids and cyclists are riding.
Traffic safety researcher Dewan Masud Karim found the safe sweet spot for urban lanes is 10 to 10.5 feet. Below that, crash risk measurably increases.
Karim, D.M., Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers, 2015 Β· FHWA Traffic Calming ePrimer
Mockingbird is a heavily used east-west corridor for cars and cyclists alike. If you drive it regularly, you know that oncoming cars already drift away from each other, and into the bike lane, when passing at speed.
Mockingbird sees a lot of cyclist traffic, including many kids. The road already feels narrow as it is β adding raised planters and chicane curb extensions into this space means less margin for error, not more.
The Town Council has been talking about this project since 2018, but only one public open house was held in September 2024. Most of the neighborhood is unaware of the project.
The final vote is set for 4pm Thursday, March 26th, at PV Town Hall with construction starting as early as May 2026 β a 6β12 month disruption to one of PV's busiest corridors.
We're asking the Paradise Valley Town Council to delay the construction vote until a proper public consultation has been conducted and an independent safety review of the lane width and chicane design has been completed.
Most residents who drive and cycle on Mockingbird every day have no idea this is coming. Show up in person or sign the petition β every voice matters before the March 26 vote.
You can also email Town Manager Andrew Ching directly:
aching@paradisevalleyaz.gov
These are official Town of Paradise Valley documents β not our interpretation. Read them and judge for yourself.
The project has been evolving since 2018 β with the design, scope, and price changing dramatically along the way, mostly without public input.