GILBERT, AZ — Neighbors in Gilbert's Marathon Ranch community say they have 91 new problems on the horizon, and safety issues on Riggs Road top their list of concerns.
Gilbert Police Department Officer Travis Sheppard said their traffic unit is doing active enforcement in the area and across the town of Gilbert.
“We’ve had about 1,050 calls for service, 42 arrests made in this grid area, and then upwards of 330 citations have been issued," Sheppard said.
Sheppard urged drivers to exercise caution on Riggs Road, which can be busy during rush hours.
"When you get into something that weighs thousands of pounds and choose to get on the roadway, that has to be done responsibly," he said.
Lennar plans to build 91 additional homes on a vacant lot in the area, and neighbors are concerned that 156th Street serves as the only access point out of the community for drivers to turn left onto Riggs.
Rod Van Bebber and more than a dozen of his neighbors say attempting to turn left onto Riggs Road from their community is already a daily struggle.
"It's Riggs Road, but really they oughta call it Riggs Highway," Van Bebber said.
He and his neighbors watched as one black car waited almost three minutes at the intersection before finding a safe opportunity to turn. Van Bebber believes the proposed development will worsen existing traffic conditions without infrastructure improvements.
"They're going to get in the queue with all the Marathon Ranch people, which is already a challenge during rush hour," he said.
The traffic concerns have prompted residents to demand safety improvements from the town, specifically requesting a traffic signal at the corner of 156th Street and Riggs Road.
"We need a traffic signal here at the corner of 156th," Van Bebber said.
However, town traffic engineers maintain the intersection doesn't meet federal guidelines for signal installation.
"To install a signal where it is not warranted, actually, it has been, according to federal guidelines, to increase the amount of crashes," Pinkerton said.
In response to resident concerns, Town of Gilbert spokesperson Joanna Guzman said the town is committed to finding solutions while following federal safety standards.
"Our top priority is ensuring that our residents are able to travel as safely as possible throughout the community," Guzman said.
She said that town evaluations indicate a signal at this location would likely negatively affect safety and increase delays. However, Guzman said the town shares residents' safety concerns and is exploring alternative solutions.
"Over the next several weeks, the Town will be exploring a number of additional potential avenues to support safe driving along this particular roadway as well as opportunities to support enhancements to safe ingress and egress from this neighborhood area," she said.
The re-evaluation is happening after Gilbert Town Councilmember Chuck Bongiovanni and others on the Town Council acknowledged the safety concerns.
"Taking a left-hand turn on that street was like taking my life in my hands," Bongiovanni said.
They ultimately decided to postpone approval of the housing development to reassess potential safety improvements. Van Bebber emphasized the urgency of addressing the traffic situation before someone gets injured.
“It can be timed with 154th so they can be red and green at the same time so it wouldn’t inconvenience drivers but we need it for safety purposes.” Van Bebber said. “We have a lot of new drivers, high schoolers, college kids, somebody is going to get hurt.”
The Gilbert Town Council will make a new decision on the housing development at their meeting on Oct. 14.
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