Residents living on or near El Lago Boulevard in Fountain Hills voiced their concerns about traffic safety to the Town Council on Tuesday, May 21.

The council was hearing a report on recommendations and actions from a traffic and pedestrian safety committee from Street Superintendent Jeff Pierce and the residents used the agenda item to air their complaints.

Most of the concerns centered on speed on what is a wide collector street that cuts through a residential neighborhood. One resident noted that the town had placed its speed trailer along the street, which collects data. The man said he was told the trailer recorded an average speed of 37 miles per hour. The speed limit on El Lago is 25 miles per hour. The data collected by the sign can be used to identify times of heavy traffic when violations occur so a deputy can be placed appropriately.

One woman said she knows traffic to be traveling up to 50-60 miles per hour.

“This is an accident waiting to happen,” she said. “Please do something.”

Another man suggested rumble strips, speed humps and additional law enforcement to address the concerns. He also said there are heavy trucks using the street that shouldn’t be. El Lago is not a designated truck route so is should not be used for through truck traffic, only local service.

Another resident raised a concern regarding the intersection of Saguaro Boulevard and La Montana Drive. There are stop signs to halt traffic off of La Montana, but Saguaro has through traffic with no stop. A landscaped median, curves on the roadway and a hill all create various line of sight concerns. There was a recent collision at the intersection involving a passenger vehicle and a cement truck. There were no serious injuries.

Town Manager Grady Miller said he would ask staff to review conditions at the intersection to see what changes might be appropriate.

Miller said various traffic calming options for El Lago would require careful consideration due to the fact that it is a collector street and not classified as a neighborhood residential. He also noted that the town’s adopted traffic calming policies require nearly 100 percent buy-in by residents to implement such things as speed bumps, humps or tables.

MCSO Capt. Larry Kratzer was also at the meeting making note of the various concerns with an eye toward directing manpower.

Action

The safety committee, which includes Mayor Ginny Dickey, Council members Sherry Leckrone and Dennis Brown and staff that includes Miller, Kratzer and Public Works Director Justin Weldy.

Pierce noted a number of actions already taken as a result of recommendations. Most of those deal with improving visibility with reflective street markings at crosswalks, using striping to narrow lanes on Avenue of the Fountains and making ADA modifications to improve pedestrian access safety.

The intersection of Palisades Boulevard and Hampstead Drive is the focus of some improvements. The corner is near the high school and is not a controlled intersection other than a stop sign off Hampstead. A sidewalk extension from Hampstead to Golden Eagle is planned to encourage pedestrians to use crosswalks at the three-way stop at Palisades and Golden Eagle.

Pierce said concept plans for a roundabout at La Montana and Avenue of the Fountains has been completed so estimates can be done. That work is also set for a planned closure of the Avenue of the Fountains at Verde River Drive. That will be brought to the council for decisions probably when the council returns after its summer break.

Pierce also demonstrated a LED highlighted stop signs the town plans to install at several intersections around town. The lights blink 24/7/365 to improve the visibility.

Several improvements have been budgeted for the coming fiscal year in the capital improvement budget.