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Klucar: Dumping, dust, noisy ATVs with open Jacob Waltz, Mountain View roads

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I would like to share my thoughts on the latest development of two dirt roads in the City of Apache Junction on State Trust Land.

On June 3, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve a resolution that would reopen Mountain View and Jacob Waltz roads, previously closed in 2018 due to lack of maintenance.

Opening Mountain View, Jacob Waltz approved by county supervisors

After the recent fires in the Superstitions, unincorporated residents became panicked when they thought that the only way in and out of the residential area next to the Lost Dutchman State Park was Nodak Road, and then onto Highway 88. Reopening an alternate escape route via Jacob Waltz and Mountain View roads suddenly became mandatory.

So, after months of debate, discussion, and petition signing, the matter was brought to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors who reviewed the road reopening while allowing a number of opposing citizens to express their unhappy viewpoints. Nonetheless, the board approved it anyway. There was a video presented at the board meeting which promoted fear of fire danger and a threatening warning that if the alternate exit was not open, people would die.

Long story short, there were a handful of residents closest to the Jacob Waltz/Mountain View thru-way who remembered what it was like before the roads were closed down in 2018. Lots of dumping, lots of dust, noisy ATVs out for joy rides in the desert, illegals and lots of speeding traffic caused hazards for everyone in the area.

Fencing next to the dirt roads was often cut open, allowing motorized vehicles and vagrants to get onto the pristine trust land, even though there were lots of State Trust Land signs posted with warnings. For those of us living close to this area, it was always problematic, and sometimes scary.

Now that Pinal County has deemed these two roads to be "real roads," they intend to open them and allow traffic to flow again. With no IGA in place with the City of Apache Junction, we are fearing the worst. Here is what we need to have in place when these roads are once again open for business:

  • For whoever is going to be responsible for this road system --- please give us all contact numbers to call when there is dumping of trash, debris, house parts, body parts, glass, Christmas trees, dead animals, tires, trailers, boats, and whatever else --- because we will be calling you quite often.
  • Secondly, please give us a number to call when the dust becomes so bad we can't see our front yards. (There was talk of double-chip sealing, but we'll see when that happens.)
  • Thirdly, let us know who to call when odd people come to our house in the middle of the night, wandering in from somewhere in this vicinity for some strange reason.
  • And lastly, please plan on installing new speed-limit signs and electronic speed indicators on these roads. I will be purchasing my own speed gun to clock the speeders as I scream loudly at them zooming down Jacob Waltz at 60 miles per hour. And I can hardly wait to watch the big cement trucks, school buses, Fed Ex, fire trucks, and other trailer trucks try to navigate those deep washes and hills.

A board member mentioned that when these roads are open, our property values will go up. I beg to differ with that.

When a Realtor brings a prospective buyer into this area via Mountain View and Jacob Waltz, given the history of previous dumping and trash, I don't think you will have much success selling this area to your clients.

Editor's note: Terrilyn Klucar is a resident of the Superstition foothills area.