The Town of Fountain Hills will not be making any upgrades to the intersection of Fountain Hills and Palisades boulevards in the near future.

On a 4-3 vote, the council rejected a proposed contract with Kimley Horn Engineering to design improvements at the intersection. Public Works Director Justin Weldy told the council that the intersection was built prior to incorporation under Maricopa County standards. He said there have been no upgrades since the original construction.

The town gets regular complaints from motorists related to left turn stacking from northbound Fountain Hills to westbound Palisades, according to Weldy. There is a similar situation where there is a raised median from eastbound Palisades to northbound Fountain Hills.

The design would have incorporated longer stacking lanes for the left turns as well as sightline improvements, Weldy said. The plan would also include unprotected left turns to allow for traffic to turn left when safe to do so. This is done with a left turn flashing yellow arrow, Weldy said. It is common at intersections throughout the Valley.

Weldy also noted that the intersection corners are not ADA compliant for pedestrians, and he said there are people with disabilities who use the intersection in motorized wheelchairs who cannot reach the crossing button that controls timing for pedestrians.

The intersection has traffic to and from the high school as well as serving residential neighborhoods. The peak traffic times are normal morning and afternoon, as well as midday for school lunch periods.

Councilman Allen Skillicorn opposed the contract saying he does not believe the unprotected signals are safe. He also said he does not think the changes need to be made to accommodate relatively short peak hours.

Councilwoman Brenda Kalivianakis said she believes it would be dereliction on the part of the council to spend money on this project. Vice Mayor Sharron Grzybowski said this has been a conversation the council and staff have been having for some time. “This needs to be done,” she said.

The design contract was in the amount of $83,095.

Skillicorn and Kalivianakis were joined by council members Gerry Friedel and Hannah Toth in opposing the agreement. Grzybowski, Mayor Ginny Dickey and Councilwoman Peggy McMahon supported the action.