'Reasonable' plans needed for streets, councilman says

Doug Murphy
Staff Writer, Ahwatukee Foothills News
April 29, 2005

Not everyone is happy at the prospect of 40th and 32nd streets being extended south to connect with streets on the Gila River Indian Community.

Diana Al-Hamdany thinks it would lead to problems.
"I don't think they should be extended," she said during a town hall meeting with Councilman Greg Stanton on Monday night.

Another speaker was even more blunt, arguing that the crime rate could go up if there was open access between the Indian community south of Pecos Road and the rest of Ahwatukee Foothills.

City officials have engaged in talks with tribal officials over the Indian community's interest in extending 48th, 40th and 32nd streets south. No agreements have been reached.

Greta Rogers said Gila River Indian Community members already come to Ahwatukee to shop, play and attend school, and that the Indians would like better and easier access for that reason, not for criminal activity.

"We haven't sustained measurable crime by members of the Gila River Indian Community," Rogers said.
While police records show that Gila River Indian Community members have committed crimes in Ahwatukee Foothills, so have people from Chandler, Tempe, other parts of Phoenix and Glendale.

Phoenix police Lt. Mike Cecchini said in a later interview that he doesn't think that connecting streets south will make much difference for crime-fighters.

"From a policing standpoint it won't be that big an impact. You will have positives and negatives," Cecchini said. "All you are doing is creating access."

Stanton told the crowd that one location he would not support extending access is on 48th Street through Pecos Park, but that he would keep an open mind on access south using other streets.

"Phoenix needs to be as reasonable as possible with the Gila River Indian Community, and they need to be reasonable with us," Stanton said.

The Gila River Indian Community has plans to develop the area south of Pecos Road between Interstate 10 and 32nd Street with offices, resorts and retail development. The Indian community has already built two golf courses, a resort, museum, stables and a casino in the area. Groundbreaking for Rawhide took place last week, another major attraction that is expected to lure 600,000 people a year when it opens in December.

One thing that Stanton doesn't want is traffic being forced to cut through Ahwatukee Foothills on its way to the Gila River Indian Community.

He said that extending 40th Street south would make sense because that would also be the first off-ramp from I-10 on any South Mountain Loop 202 freeway and it would make for the logical entrance to the Indian community.