Council right to rid the city of Grant Road death trap

The Tucson City Council voted yesterday to end the reversible "suicide" lane on East Grant Road. The council didn't discuss the matter and took less than 10 seconds to unanimously vote in support of Ward 3 Councilwoman Kathleen Dunbar's motion to eliminate the lane. In truth, 10 seconds was probably too long, much like the existence of the lane itself.

The lane, which flows west from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and east from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday, was introduced in 1981 as a temporary measure until Grant could be widened. More than 20 years later, Grant still hasn't been widened, and population growth on the west side has changed traffic patterns. The irregular flow characteristics no longer meet the engineering characteristics for a reversible lane.

In reality, the lane should have been eliminated long ago. It only stuck around this long because Tucson city planners can't manage to come up with a single feasible initiative to alleviate growing traffic problems. Instead, ill-conceived proposals, such as last year's light rail initiative, meet with underwhelming support at the ballots.

That's not to say that the suicide lane has the support of neighborhood residents and storeowners. Rather, the people the lane affects most are the same ones who form in groups along the sidewalk to protest the lane's existence. The lane benefits Tucsonans who choose to live on the city's fringes by shortening their commutes, yet decreases the rush-hour profits of merchants who see decreased traffic in their stores but increased traffic on their streets.

But the lane is not just a threat to the livelihood of Grant denizens; more importantly, it's a threat to their lives. Multiple pedestrians have been hit while trying to cross the street by cars speeding down the suicide lane, including a 13-year-old boy who was killed in February. Many UA students must face one-way, center-lane traffic on their way home from class. It's fortunate there haven't been more accidents involving pedestrians already.

The suicide lane is poorly conceived, anachronistic and dangerous. It endangers pedestrians living in the neighborhoods surrounding campus while providing only meager relief to crosstown drivers. Sitting in traffic for an extra 10 minutes is a small price to pay for ensuring the safety of Tucson's pedestrians.