Tempe speed limits lowered on seven roadways to protect pedestrians

By
FOX 10 Phoenix
Published June 13, 2026 5:14 PM MST
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Tempe reduces speed limits on major roads to cut down on dangerous driving

The city of Tempe officially lowered speed limits by 5 mph on seven major streets to accommodate an increase in pedestrian and e-bike traffic. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen learns more on the new changes, and how drivers are reacting. 

The Brief

    • The city of Tempe officially reduced speed limits on seven major roadways to handle growing multi-modal infrastructure.
    • City planners cite an increasing presence of pedestrians, bicyclists, and e-bike riders as these areas transform into high-density business and residential corridors.
    • Local motorists expressed mixed reactions to the changes, while municipal data indicates that automated speed-enforcement cameras can reduce adjacent intersection collisions by up to 50%.

TEMPE, Ariz. - Drivers may want to check the speed limit signs when traveling around Tempe, as the city has officially lowered speed limits on seven major roadways.

What we know:

Municipal crews have not begun updating signage at key intersections yet, including the corridor near Priest Drive and Alameda Drive. 

A total of six other regional thoroughfares are undergoing changes. 

  • Segments of Priest Drive are changing from 45 mph to 40 mph.
  • Parts of Broadway Road and Guadalupe Road are dropping from 45 mph to 40 mph.
  • Sections of McKellips Road are decreasing from 40 mph to 35 mph.
  • Parts of Roosevelt Street are dropping from 35 mph to 30 mph.
  • Veterans Way and 5th Street is being reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph.

Local perspective:

City officials state they are lowering the limits because more pedestrians and e-bikes have been appearing on local streets. The infrastructure modifications are designed to reflect a broader community shift toward business-focused and residential-focused development.

Local motorists hold conflicting viewpoints regarding the safety adjustments.

What they're saying:

"The speed limits were fine the way they were. I think it’s all the other people that are out there, people not following traffic laws.  The left lane is for passing, not for just cruising below the speed limit. I think that causes more crashes than what the actual speed limit does," Duncan Storm said.

The other side:

"I feel like the speed limits going down by five actually would help a lot like with like the impaired drivers and all the dissociated like people that are going around in the world," Jett Bennett said.

Dig deeper:

To encourage more responsible behavior on the road, Tempe implemented photo-enforcement speeding cameras at 14 intersections last May. According to data cited from the U.S. Department of Transportation, automated safety cameras effectively lower the overall number of vehicular crashes by 50%.

Big picture view:

Tempe is not alone in utilizing automated traffic enforcement strategies to manage urban growth. Neighbors in the city of Scottsdale maintain 11 speed cameras, which have been active since 1996 to prevent drivers from running red lights. Automated photo-enforcement systems have also returned to parts of Phoenix this year to manage speed compliance across the municipal grid.

The Source: City of Tempe

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