North Central Phoenix Info

North Central neighbors: the City of Phoenix wants to hear from 👉🏼you.

Or should I say, NEEDS to hear from you.
I mean, really, really NEEDS to HEAR from you! 📣

Phoenix is studying transportation and mobility in our area, and they need input from residents between 16th Street and 19th Avenue, McDowell to Dunlap.

The online survey takes just a few minutes, and the deadline is this Friday, May 29.

We shared the direct link in our newsletter this week. Not a subscriber? Sign up at ncpha.org so you never miss updates like this.

Take the survey at
https://www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/streets/initiatives/projects-studies/midtown-core-transportation-study.html

Long before Phoenix was Phoenix, and long before your street was your street, a man planted some trees in the desert.

That was 1895. And most of it is gone now. The estates. The citrus groves. The horse-drawn buggies rolling down Central Avenue. The ice wagon making its rounds through the neighborhood, delivering blocks of ice to homes along the street. One of those homes on Central Avenue belonged to the owner of the ice hauling company itself.

But before you think this is a horribly sad story, life goes on, and the olive trees did too.

William J. Murphy had an idea that started with lines on a map. He called it the Orangewood Subdivision, a two-square-mile stretch of open desert from Northern Avenue to Bethany Home Road, between 7th Avenue and 7th Street. He divided it into 20-acre lots, set his sights on wealthy investors, and designed Central Avenue as a grand driving corridor that would make people want to put down roots in this desert.

To do that, he planted actual roots. Rows of olive and ash trees along Central Avenue, and citrus throughout the subdivision. He planted them to create beauty and shade and a sense of place. He planted them to say: this is somewhere worth being.

He was right.

And over 125 years later, some of those same original trees are still standing on Central Avenue, still growing, still shading the street he designed for a city that barely existed yet.

This neighborhood has long memories. If your property has history, if you have a story passed down from a previous owner, or a memory of this street that deserves to be told, we want to hear it. DM us. You might just end up in the next post.

Next week: what makes those olive trees so extraordinary.

Today we remember.

Memorial Day exists for one reason: to honor the men and women who died in service to this country.

Not the long weekend.
Not the cookouts.
The sacrifice.

If you lost someone in military service, drop their name and branch of service in the comments below. A parent. A sibling. A neighbor. A friend. Someone from our streets, our hearts, who never came home.

We want to create a small wall of remembrance right here in our community so we can remember together.

What's on your calendar this weekend?

🚧 Heads up, North Central neighbors! If SR 51 is part of your daily commute, plan a little extra time this week.

Southbound SR 51 will be narrowed to one or two lanes in two stretches, nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Tuesday, May 19, through Friday morning May 22:

Between Glendale Avenue and Bethany Home Road, and between Indian School Road and I-10.

Also worth knowing: the rough pavement you may have noticed on the bridge decks is temporary. ADOT will be diamond-grinding the surface smooth as the project progresses. The bumps won't be there forever!

Good news for the weekend: no SR 51 freeway closures are planned May 22-25. 🙌

Mark your calendars now though. A full southbound closure between Indian School Road and I-10 is scheduled from 9 p.m. Friday, May 29, through 5 a.m. Monday, June 1. More details to come as we get closer.

More info at azdot.gov/SR51-I-10-Shea-Pavement-Rehab

SR 51 Heads-Up for North Central Neighbors

This weekend (May 15-18): Southbound SR 51 is CLOSED between Northern Avenue and Camelback/Highland Avenue from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday. On-ramps at 32nd and 26th Streets are also closed.

Detour: Take westbound Northern to southbound 16th Street to Highland or Indian School Road. Or use southbound I-17 as an alternate freeway route.

Note on rough pavement: The uneven surface you may have noticed is temporary from recent work. It will be smoothed. This is not the finished road.

Memorial Day weekend (May 22-25): No closures planned.

Coming up (May 29-June 1): Southbound SR 51 will be closed between Indian School Road and I-10 from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.

For full details: azdot.gov/SR51-I-10-Shea-Pavement-Rehab

A rollover accident recently occurred at Glendale and Central, and it's a good reminder for everyone using the bridle path.⁠
⁠
Drivers waiting to turn left across traffic have a lot competing for their attention. Walkers and cyclists on the path may not be visible, or may not be top of mind. Do not assume a car sees you.⁠
⁠
Central has seen more than its share of accidents. Make eye contact before you cross. Slow down at intersections. Look both ways, even if you have the right of way.

Bengal cat got out of the house around 3-4pm today. Last seen near W Vista and 3rd Ave. Contact # # #- # # #- # # with any info. 🙏🏼

EDIT: cat found!!

Lost Dog/puppy
16th and Bethany Road
602-909-7310

Anyone seen Sugar today?

UPDATE: SUGAR HAS BEEN FOUND! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼