North Phoenix residents ask for better traffic management during I-17 closure chaos
PHOENIX - A closure on I-17 in north Phoenix caused chaos for drivers this past Mother’s Day weekend.
The impact was also felt in neighborhoods surrounding the closure as the typically quiet streets were turned into gridlocked parking lots.
On Monday, the morning after the highway reopened, kids are able to ride their bikes and parents are able to run errands. That’s the complete opposite of what the community looked like this past weekend.
"I’ve lived here 20 years," Kimberly Mazur said. "I have never seen anything like this before."
"I have never seen anything like that ever. Anywhere," Amber Devries said.
33rd Lane looks a lot different from what it did 24 hours ago.
"It was very off-putting, very disruptive," Chris Bezile said.
Drivers looking to find ways around the traffic took earlier exits than ADOT's planned detour, ending up like packed sardines in typically quiet neighborhoods.
"There were a lot of unsafe things going on in here, and it really affected our neighborhood and people that had passed out in their cars. People ran out of gas," Mazur said.
Residents said it was difficult for first responders to get to crashes that happened.
"If you have an emergency, I don't know what you would do," Devries said.
The community is looking to ADOT to make a better plan for the future closures.
"They rushed us with, you know, cars and detours, you know, because of the road closures. It ruins the weekend for everybody," Bezile said.
The Storey family missed out on a family event because of the traffic in front of their home.
"My cousin was supposed to get to devoted, but we couldn't even get out of our driveway, so we didn't go," Samantha Storey said.
They made the most of the chaos.
"It caused so many people not to be able to get food or water, but we also were able to help a lot of people," she said.
Neighbors on 33rd Lane were passing out water, snacks, and lemonade to stuck drivers, even letting them use their restrooms.
Some neighbors said they want a police presence to direct traffic and for ADOT to close off neighborhood access to residents only.
A mother of seven, Selly Monestime, is set to celebrate a family milestone.
"My second oldest is getting ready to graduate from high school," she said.
As she prepares for a full house, the idea of another I-17 shutdown is looming over the festivities.
"I am just stressing that like, I'm going to do all this stuff and spend all this money and then no one's going to be able to make it," she said. "We've invited everybody I know so, I want them to be able to come to the graduation party but not be stuck in traffic."
FOX 10 reached out to ADOT for its plans for traffic management on these future closures. An announcement is expected on May 14.
This past weekend was the first of many planned closures.
Learn more about the pavement work on I-17 by clicking here.
