Construction for a road in the northern Valley is underway, but not everyone agrees with it, especially homeowners in the area. Issues have surfaced regarding the nature and purpose of the road and its impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Sonoran Boulevard project broke ground this month, but it won’t be completed until 2013.
According to Councilwoman Peggy Neely, Sonoran Blvd. will be the only east-west connection from Interstate 17 to Cave Creek Road between Deer Valley Road and Carefree Highway. It will also be an environmentally sustainable project, with the construction of a multi-use trail leading people through the Sonoran Preserve, which some hope will raise awareness of the area.
However, the Sonoran Citizens Improvement Association disagrees with the intent of the project. They also believe the project misused public funds (Proposition 400) in an effort to defraud the taxpayers. This will be covered in the second part of the series.
Clif Freedman, president of Sonoran Citizens, says they are not trying to stop the road from being built, but to change the nature of the road, as well as maintain a safe environment for the community. Freedman calls Sonoran Blvd. the “road to nowhere.”
The road presents a public safety hazard throughout the community, Freedmans says. Home values will further decline, and the road will bring 50,000 cars into the community with no outlet to neither the I-17 nor the Loop 303.
And word has spread that the wrong road is being built. One road, previously named Dove Valley Road, would have connected to Loop 303. The road was renamed to Sonoran Blvd., and some say officials aren’t building the road originally planned, because it doesn’t connect to the 303.
Stay tuned for the next part of the series about the Sonoran Boulevard project.
