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PHOENIX - IMPORTANT FACTS TO KNOW! |
The City of Phoenix is divided up into 15 Urban Villages. Inside some of the Villages are well known neighborhoods, or districts, which are listed as subpoints. These urban villages are: Ahwatukee Foothills, Alhambra, Camelback East, Central City, Deer Valley, Desert View, Encanto, Estrella, Laveen, Maryvale, North Gateway, North Mountain, Paradise Valley (not to be confused with the town of Paradise Valley), South Mountain, as well as a fifteenth which is as of yet unnamed (created in 2004 and currently called, "New Village."). The fifteenth is sparsely populated (if at all) and new development is not expected in the near future.
Major streets: The street system in Phoenix is laid out in a traditional grid system, with most roads oriented either North-South or East-West. The zero point is the intersection of Central Avenue and Washington Street. Numbered Avenues run north-south west of Central; numbered Streets run north-south east of Central. Major arterial streets are spaced one mile apart. The one-mile blocks are divided into approximately 800 house numbers, although this varies. Scottsdale Road, being 7200 East, is approximately 7200 / 800 = 9 miles east of Central. The Valley Metro bus numbers are also based on this numbering system, with the Central Avenue bus being Route Zero, and Scottsdale Road being Route 72.
Rush hour: Rush hours tend to be between 7 to 9 am and 4 to 6:30 pm. Because of the summer heat, many construction workers begin before daylight. So, summer rush hours tend to be 11/2 to 2 hours earlier than in other metropolitan areas. With most workers commuting from outside the city, traffic into the heart of Phoenix can become very heavy in the early morning hours. Outbound traffic most days begins to get heavy around 4 pm.
Rules of the road: Sometimes there seems to be no rules, so drive defensively! Drivers here often speed, tailgate, and seem to forget about using turn signals. Be especially defensive for speeders on the Loop 101 and 202 expressways and on AZ 51. The 7.8-mile stretch of Loop 101 between Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard is particularly notorious for drivers exceeding 100 mph and photo radar has been installed to nab these reckless individuals.
On surface streets, yellow lights tend to be timed shorter than in other cities. Be ever alert for drivers slipping through a light that has just turned red!
In several communities, cameras are mounted on utility poles to photograph red light runners, and photo radar is commonly used by police in inconspicuous roadside vans hidden in the shrubs and low foliage; fines are stiff, and excuses are rarely accepted.
Local Resource Links
www.azcentral.com
www.coasttocoasttickets.com/resources/travel/cities/phoenix_az.shtml
www.pflagphoenix.org/
www.attractionguide.com/phoenix/
www.phoenix.citysearch.com/
www.azmetro.com/phxmetro.html
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