72-80% of the bicycle/motor-vehicle accidents occur when the biclist has been riding on the sidewalk, so please do no recommend that.

In Tempe, AZ, McClintock Road has Bicycle lanes South of Guadalupe Road. North of Guadalupe Road, McClintock has three lanes southbound and two lanes northbound, with two sharp curves near the Fire Station, and no bike lanes. Motor Vehicles, typically drive at approximately 53-55 MPH in this area and cannot see bicyclist riding legally in the roadway until the motorist is almost on top of the bicyclist.
Bicycle lanes on McClintock north of Guadalupe are essential to the safety of the bicyclist and to the northbound smooth flow of motor-vehicle traffic. S McClintock Dr, north of Guadalupe Rd,Tempe, AZ 85283, USA. This could be accomplished without construction and without delay by painting two motor-vehicle lanes in each direction, and bike lanes both north and south.

It seems to me that for the equivalent of pocket change from AZ's stimulus $'s we could structurally fix this and many other bicycling danger spots.

The City of Tempe, AZ has indicated that they "do not wish to encourage bicyclists on arterial streets." I guess that the City of Tempe, AZ prefers to have dead bicyclists and traffic tieups to bike lanes.

Over the years I have found that in the complaint areas that are mentioned I have more problems as a walker with bicycles on the sidewalk than I do with the riders getting in a cars way.

Plugged In - Nancy Puffer
Nancy Puffer writes the Around Tempe columnBicycle fatality adds more to local family's woes - Around Tempe for 6/12/10

How much tragedy can one family bear? That’s the question the Fretz family of Tempe asks every day since 36 year-old Jay Fretz, a local cyclist and environmental advocate, was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike home from work in Tempe on May 17th. He later died. But there is more to the story, punctuated with lousy timing and heart-wrenching misfortune.
“When the police showed up at my door that night around 6:30 p.m., I knew Jay had been hit by a car but had no idea the severity of his injuries. It was our 7th wedding anniversary that day and I thought he was late because he was getting something special for us to celebrate that evening,” said Angie Fretz, Jay’s wife. “It still is such a shock and hard for it all to sink in, it will take me quite some time to really come to grips with the fact that he is actually not living with us anymore.”
As if her husband’s death isn’t enough, Angie was already processing other life-changing news.
“Two weeks before Jay's death I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am starting chemotherapy next week to reduce the size of the tumor and subsequently will have a mastectomy,” Angie said. “My daughter is such a wonderful support, she's only 5 years old and for her to take this all in, in a matter of a couple of weeks, it breaks my heart. I truly believe she is an old soul and has helped me, her grandparents, family and friends remain sane through this ordeal.”
The family is moving forward with virtually no time to grieve.
“We’re just really concerned about Anika right now because she’s lost her daddy, and she’s going to see some really scary things with her mommy. That’s kind of what’s getting us along right now,” said GayLee Fretz, Jay’s mother. “Right now, it is the focus on her that is giving me the strength to get through this. Its like, ‘Wham! Wham! Wham!’ Where did this come from?”
The vehicle struck Jay Fretz at the intersection of McClintock & Alameda Drives. He was riding home from work at a Tempe engineering firm where he worked as a draftsman. The family is sorting through bits of information about what happened and hopes to receive the police report soon.
In the meantime, cycling enthusiasts erected a ghost bike at the intersection in Jay’s honor to increase safety awareness for motorists and cyclists.
Last November, Jay Fretz’ Tempe consulting business, Home Energy Xperts, was featured in this column. He touted his home energy inspection service and a blog called, “Slay Energy Vampires” where he offered free advice to help people conserve energy and live greener lifestyles. The blog can be viewed at www.slayenergyvampires.com.
“He truly was a teacher in this and did it to educate and create awareness,” said Angie. “We sold our second car 2 1/2 years ago and Jay rode his bike to work every day from 40 degrees in the morning in the winter to 105 degrees in the summer. Above 105 I insisted on picking him up. He loved it for the exercise, he loved it because he had a cool bike - a Raleigh Rush Hour fixed gear with mustache handlebars, and he loved it because he was reducing his carbon footprint.”
The family hopes to identify someone who will carry on his blog and environmental campaign. They’re also on a mission to change some attitudes after reading blog comments posted along with online stories about Jay’s death.
“One of the comments was, ‘Bicycles shouldn’t be allowed on the road; these idiots dart out from the side - and I feel sorry for the driver.’ That really hurt,” GayLee said. “It was thinly veiled on the part of a couple of people (who insinuated), he got what he deserved.”
Jay’s dad, John Fretz, was equally disturbed.
“Until the idea that (bicycling) is somebody doing something good for society, and you believe that, which is certainly not the case now, you’re not going to get the support,” he said.
Support for Jay’s wife and daughter, however, now takes precedence. Angie currently has no income and was covered by Jay’s health insurance through his work.
“She is considered self-employed because she works at home transcribing accident tapes, of all things,” said GayLee. “She’s taken a leave of absence now, of course, and she hasn’t even started the chemotherapy yet.”
The family set up a memorial fund to benefit Jay and Angie’s daughter, Anika. Donations can be sent to Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 2945, Phoenix AZ, 85062-9876, and directed to John Fretz for the benefit of Anika Fretz.
Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 01:43 PM
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Topics: PLUGGED IN - SOUTHEAST VALLEY, Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa

I don't know how to get a message to Jay Fretez's widow but here it is:

May I suggest a referral for Angie and Anika:
The New Song Center for Grieving Children. They are wonderful and their programming is free. They can be reached by calling 480-951-8985 or at http://www.hov.org/new_song_center.aspx.
Also the Wellness Community (602-712-1006; www.twccaz.org) for Angie, which provides stellar support and education -- all free of charge -- for those fighting cancer. May blessings follow Angie and Anika and all who reach out to support them.

Safety problems need to be sent to the Rish Manager of the city involved. For instance "Tempe Bicyclist Death Trap is being ignored by the City of Tempe. It has been brought to the attention of the Tempe Mayoy, the Tempe City Council, and the Tempe Streets Department. We have had two bicyclist killed in our small city. We have a major polution problem in our small city. Yet these people are more concerned with taking a lane away from motorists (where there are more lanes in one direction than the other) than they are in addressing commuting bicyclist safety or survival, pollution, or our dependence upon foreign oil. However, we have found that the Risk Manager in many cities is responsible forassessing and reducing the risks in the City Yet the Risk Manager is not one of the choices as to whom should be notified of a hazard.

Please add. Risk Manager to those to be notified of safety hazards.

Mr. Lucas,

Thanks very much for your helpful and constructive suggestions. I see that you posted the same comment to the forum at help.seeclickfix.com. I will close the thread over there, since the issue at hand is related to the public space in Tempe itself, and is meant to be addressed through SeeClickFix itself right here (help.seeclickfix.com is meant for technical issues with the site).

In any case, your help on this issue would be much appreciated. As I'm sure you know by now, SeeClickFix works by notifying public officials of issue through their email. I've looked for a public email address for the Risk Manager, but the closest I was able to find was the email address at the bottom of this web site:

http://www.tempe.gov/clerk/RM/

Does this look right to you? If not, your help in contacting the right official would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it's worth noting, in cases where it is difficult to find the right city official, others within the city administration (usually 311) will help redirect the request to the public official with the authority to act. Have we heard anything from the City of Tempe watchers who were notified?

Thanks very much for using SeeClickFix.

-Andrew
SeeClickFix Team

The City of Tempe, AZ has been notified by many people of the hazards that exist on McClintock Road. Yet, the City of Tempe ignores the problem and its Law Enforcement Officers will not even enforce existing law to protect bicyclists.

We in Arizona have had a law on the books that provides for a $500 to $1000.00 fine for not providing 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclist. It is $500 for seriously injuring the bicyclist and only $1000 for killing the bicyclist. This law places a value of only $1000.00 on a human life and the Law Enforcement Officers of Tempe (LEOs) still will not write citations based upon this law. Why not? The investigating officer in this case should be fired and have his Arizona LEO certification revoked for dereliction of duty. Does Hugh Hallman the Mayor of the City of Tempe condone this non enforcement of the law? Does Chief Tom Ryff of the Tempe, Arizona Police Department condone this inaction on the part of his officers? Should Hugh Hallman remain the Mayor of the City of Tempe if he allows this non-enforcement of the law, even when it results in death? Should Tom Ryff remain the Chief of Police of Tempe, AZ, if he condones this inaction, on the part of his Law Enforcement Officers and their supervisors, even when death has been the result of the unenforced infraction? I hope that I am not the only one who places a higher value on life, than the simple charge of speeding.

Closed