This is a "grandfathered" speed trap. It has been classified as a "residential" street in order to maintain it as a trap. The majority of the street is 36 ft wide. However, Phoenix Ave has been widened by at least 2-3 ft at the Arlington end in a manner that allows the grandfathered "residential" street denotation to be maintained. This wide entrance was made to accommodate local city RTA buses making a wide turn and provides an offset for a mandatory bus route (route #13 as of April, 2010) on the corner of Phoenix and Arlington.

This section of Phoenix is an interconnecting N-S Avenue between two of the largest E-W corridor roads (Central Ave and Arlington Ave) leading into and from the central shopping and business area of Riverside. Central is a 4 lane road with speed limits of 40 to 45 mph. There is a traffic control light with no left turn control light at the intersection of Central and Phoenix (the north end of the Phoenix Ave. section). You must turn left in front of oncoming traffic that is commonly oncoming at speeds in excess of 40 mph.
Arlington is a major E-W corridor, with a concrete divider between its 4 lanes. It also has a 40-45 mph posted speed limit. However, the intersection at Arlington and Phoenix has left turn control lights (unlike the Central intersection). Arlington has cement left turn off sets to accomodate a left turn lane for the RTA buses to make a left turn onto Phoenix.

The "residential" rating makes it possible to post Phoenix Ave as a 25 mph street. This is not supported by the usual speed (estimated at 35 to 45 mph) of traffic on the street. When revenue is demanded by the city, motorcycle police officers will sequester themselves on feeder streets and even in the offset driveways of foreclosed on homes that abut Phoenix Ave. and use radar to stop motorist. To watch this is to watch a feeding frenzy by police. Two offices will often use both sides to the street, each shooting in opposite directions to hold up "speeders" on their respective sides of Phoenix Ave. Two sets of flashing lights and two cars stopped simultaneously is a common sight on Phoenix.

Somehow, although the widening of the south end of Phoenix Ave. had to have taken place in the past 10 to 15 years, and the installation of a traffic light at the north end of Phoenix had to have been installed within the last 6 years, no "Traffic and Engineering survey for speed zoning" exists for this section of Phoenix Ave as of April, 2010. The city of Rriverside appears to be purposefully dragging its heals and avoiding the CVC rules in order to preserve a street that is a large income generator.