OPINION — It seems when it comes to data, our town council doesn’t pay much attention to it. Or to staff recommendations.
I looked at the data (circa 2024). It tells a story that challenges the recent decisions of council. Data ranges tell the real story. Thistle, the most recent “direct select,” is worse than Palomino, which went first. But to say that either Palomino or Thistle is worse than so many other streets in Fountain Hills is just not true.
The “direct selection” – a term describing council decisions without data basis – started with Palomino; it’s segment range is 55.2 to 61.9 PCI. These well-known arterials and collectors have equal to or lower PCIs than Palomino, some of them significantly so: Fountain Hills Boulevard, El Lago, Golden Eagle, Kingstree and parts of Saguaro. Approximately 200 local streets have at least one PCI segment that’s equal or lower than Palomino. Local streets account for more that 250 of segments under 50PCI! Yes, local streets are our problem – more than two-thirds of the streets by category. Overall, there are nearly 550 total street segments below 60 PCI.
