Looming transportation needs can't be put off

The Arizona Republic
Jan. 18, 2006 12:00 AM  

About 50 people showed up at the county library in Gilbert last Tuesday to hear about the state's transportation plans in the far Southeast Valley and Pinal County - but we all will feel the effects of the looming crisis there. We'd better start paying attention.

Right now, the crisis mainly affects a few thousand people in northern Pinal County and the Queen Creek and Gilbert areas. The problem is that developers are rolling out subdivisions even though the roads and highways in the area are inadequate to handle the traffic. Hordes of motorists get stuck in long lines on what essentially are two-lane farm roads that a few years ago handled a few dozen cars and maybe a tractor or two in a hour.

While residents of the far Southeast Valley are hot under the collar, the rest of us tend to shake our heads and figure it's their problem. But their problem soon will be our problem. That's because the Southeast Valley's freeway system, which is still not finished, was designed to handle the growth of eastern Maricopa County, not the explosive growth now occurring in Pinal County.

In short, many of the 1.5 million people that the Arizona Department of Transportation expects will move into the far Southeast Valley over the next 30 years will be sharing the freeways that you drive on in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix.

Although Maricopa County voters in November 2004 approved extending the Valley's half-cent transportation tax for an additional 20 years to complete our freeway system and expand mass transit, it won't cover the looming transportation needs in the far Southeast Valley.

Dale Buskirk, ADOT's director of planning, told those attending last Tuesday's meeting that extending the freeway system into Pinal County and widening existing state highways will cost about $6 billion. There is no existing funding source for that. Meanwhile, Buskirk noted, construction costs are skyrocketing.

And here's another catch: Even if roads are miraculously built and widened in Pinal County over the next few years, that will only mean heavier traffic in the communities closer to Phoenix.

So what should we do?

Voters in Queen Creek and Pinal County will provide part of the answer during upcoming local elections. Though turnout in municipal and county elections is usually low, growth-related crises always bring out the voters - and they usually vote for change. One way or the other, local governments need to figure out how to fix the worst traffic bottlenecks - pronto.

Second, the Legislature must take up the question of how to pay for the $6 billion state plan. The political future of lawmakers representing this high-growth area may well depend on how forcefully they address this issue.

Third, ADOT must complete Loop 202 around South Mountain. Preferably, the Gila River Indian Community will recognize the economic development potential of this freeway leg and agree to a route on the reservation. If not, the Pecos Road alignment is the only feasible alternative to getting interstate traffic out of downtown Phoenix to make room for more commuters.

Fourth, we need to get serious about the enormous potential of commuter rail to reduce the load on our freeway system. Union Pacific Railway tracks now run from downtown Phoenix southeastward right through our growth corridor, all the way to Tucson. It would take a big investment to expand the rail system's capacity to handle commuter as well as freight trains, but not making that investment would end up being far more costly.

Regardless of where you live in the Southeast Valley, you literally cannot afford to ignore this issue.

Bob Schuster is Southeast Valley editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic.