Residents
ponder road 'less traveled'
North Valley residents explore options for East Sonoran
Parkway
by Ambria Hammel
NORTH PHOENIX - The lone traveler in Robert Frost's poem "The
Road Not Taken" stands at a fork in the road where he studies
each pathway to determine which one will be the best for the future.
Knowing he cannot go back on his decision, he takes "the one
less traveled."
Many northeast Phoenix residents may identify with Frost's traveler
as they consider three alternatives for construction of the Sonoran
Parkway stretching from I 17 to Cave Creek Road and connecting to
developed roadways. On March 29, more than 70 Phoenix and Desert
Foothills residents attended the first of two community input meetings
to learn about the city's existing and projected street network,
review the parkway's alternatives and provide feedback.
The meeting was a coordinated effort between the city's Street Transportation
Department and Councilwoman Peggy Neely who appointed a 12 member
citizens review committee in 2004.
The East Sonoran Parkway Alignment Committee spent more than a year
researching and compiling the alternatives for the roadway. Construction
could begin as early as 2008.
"The solution should improve general traffic flow in the study
area and alleviate near capacity traffic conditions on existing
streets, and you probably all know where those are currently,"
said Chaun Hill, project manager with Street Transportation. She
said the vital role of transportation corridors is to move people
and contribute to the city's economic vitality.
Hill presented community members with street classification maps
from 1987 to 2004. Each map highlighted roadway plans for large
arterial streets such as the Sonoran Parkway.
Committee members worked with the general vision set forth in the
street classification maps over the last year and designated specific
alternatives for the parkway's path and design. The Sonoran Parkway
will feature signalized intersections, along with landscaped medians
and buffers, in addition to trail and wildlife crossings through
washes using building materials that mimic the natural environment.
The parkway will initially be one lane in each direction but ultimately
widen to three as determined by development. Alternative A connects
the parkway to Lone Mountain Road and Tatum Boulevard west of 40th
Street and connects Dynamite Boulevard west of Cave Creek Road.
It would also intersect with Cave Creek Road and become the Black
Mountain Parkway. The committee said this alternative evenly distributes
traffic, but causes the most disturbance to the Sonoran Preserve
and the most travel delay time.
Blake Goodman, one of at least 15 residents who spoke during the
meeting, downplayed the role of aesthetics in the design process,
focusing more on delay time. "The least delay time causes the
least amount of traffic," he said.
Cave Creek residents Mark Lewis and Mark Doughty agreed with Goodman,
saying the plan shows too many stoplights. Doughty expressed concerns
about the net effect of the parkway's path on connecting streets
and asked for associated volume data with each alternative to help
in the decision process. Hill responded that arterial streets can
support up to 50,000 cars per day and directed him to the Maricopa
County Association of Governments population map displayed during
the presentation in order to get an idea of volume.
Alternative B offers similar connections as Alternative A but eliminates
the Tatum Blvd. connection. This route would increase the amount
of traffic on 40th Street, Lone Mountain and Dynamite, but would
cause the least disturbance to the preserve. Cave Creek resident
Dan Mayberry couldn't see the practicality of this alternative,
citing that it takes traffic away from the city (toward Lone Mountain)
and brings it back south.
Alternative C connects to Tatum at 40th Street and Dynamite east
of Cave Creek Road. It also connects to the Black Mountain Parkway
at Dynamite. The committee sees Alternative C as causing the least
delay time, although high disturbance to the preserve. Dove Valley
resident Len Zamora prefers this alternative, but expressed concerns
about regulating speed to reduce the number of accidents. Hill assured
him that speed is a primary concern when looking at the geometric
layout of proposed roadways.
A few residents asked for clarification of the committee process
and how their comments will be taken into consideration. Their oral
comments were recorded by a stenographer. The majority, however,
provided their feedback on a four page comment form indicating their
likes and dislikes under each alternative. The back page was reserved
for their input on the meeting's effectiveness.
Kristin Darr Bornstein, process facilitator, reviewed the next steps.
She gave area residents an April 10 deadline to submit feedback
forms. The comments will be compiled and provided to the Sonoran
Parkway committee for review and consideration at their final meeting
in May.
"That hopefully will achieve consensus and serve you, the community,
well," Darr Bornstein said. The parkway committee's final recommendation
will be by reviewed by several city committees and commissions before
being presented to Phoenix City Council. It is the council who will
decide the "road less traveled."
Reach the reporter at ambria@thedesertadvocate.com. |
