Queen Creek creates standalone transportation department

By Janet Perez
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

Queen Creek has moved transportation duties out of public works to create a freestanding department.

“As our community has grown, our infrastructure and service needs have become more complex. This structural change will allow each department to sharpen its focus, improve operational efficiency and better serve our residents,” Queen Creek Town Council Member Jeff Brown said.

The new transportation department will oversee traffic engineering, pavement preservation and streets, while the public works department will retain fleet, facilities and environmental services. The town now has more than 900 lane miles and over 90 traffic signals.

“We’ve invested more than $200 million in transportation improvements in the last 10 years alone, primarily through building and widening roadways,” stated Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley in a press release. “This strategic organizational alignment will allow our transportation team to listen, evaluate and implement changes that will continue to improve transportation in our community, which we know is incredibly important to our residents.”

Mohamed Youssef, who had been helming public works, will be directing the transportation department. Youssef has been with the town for more than a decade.

“As one of the most knowledgeable traffic engineers in the Valley, Mohamed Youssef has done an excellent job of leading the public works department,” Brown said. “With the decision to split the department, the town will be able to capitalize on Mohamed’s expertise to focus on the transportation network, which is one of the top three priorities of the town and of the community.”

Kenny Stimson, who has been working as the deputy director of operations at public works, will become the interim head of the department. The deputy of transportation at public works, Julian Dresang, will assume the same job at the new transportation department, according to Constance Halonen Wilson, communications and marketing manager for the town.

Stimson will be leading the public works department “for at least six months until the town manager decides on the recruitment consistent with the timing of next year’s budget process,” Brown said.

At the moment, the realignment of the departments has not resulted in the hiring of new staff.

• Widening Sossaman Road to a five-lane section from the Sonoqui Wash to Chandler Heights Road and constructing a bridge over the Sonoqui Wash. Cost: $14.8 million.
• Widening Chandler Heights Road to five lanes and addressing pavement maintenance from Sossaman to Hawes roads. Cost: $10.7 million.
• Various improvements at key intersections to enhance traffic flow and safety. Cost: $6.5 million.
• Expansion of the Hawes Road corridor from Chandler Heights to Ocotillo roads. Cost: $4.8 million.
• New traffic signals and drainage. Cost: $5.2 million.

Projects that will be continued this fiscal year include substantial completion of the construction of Power Road from Riggs to Chandler Heights roads at a cost of $7.4 million.

“Every trip in Queen Creek matters,” Youssef stated in the release. “The dedicated transportation department puts our residents at the heart of every transportation decision we make.”

Under the 2016 Transportation Master Plan, the city has made several major improvements, including:

• Widening Ellsworth Road to three lanes in each direction throughout Queen Creek.
• Extending and widening Ocotillo Road, making it the first east-west connector.
• Widening Rittenhouse Road to two lanes in each direction throughout Queen Creek.
• Extending and widening Riggs Road, making it the second east-west connector.
• Extending Crimson Road and Signal Butte Road to the northern Mesa boundary with Signal Butte connecting to the State Route 24.
• Extending and widening Meridian Road, providing a connector from the SR24 to Combs Road.

“Every road we build, every signal we optimize and every safety improvement we implement has one purpose: to create a safer, smarter and more reliable transportation system that keeps pace with our growth while putting the people we serve first,” Youssef stated.

The town is also in the process of creating a safety action plan that identifies specific strategies aimed at reducing the number of fatal and serious injury crashes.

“Ideally, in a perfect world, we would reduce and eliminate all crashes, but there’s a human element to the driving process, and people are going to make mistakes. We have to just make sure when those mistakes are made that they maybe result in property damage to the vehicle or minor injuries, but not serious injuries and fatal crashes,” Dresang told the Queen Creek Town Council at its Aug. 5 meeting.

The plan is expected to be completed in December and presented to the town council.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Janet Perez
News Editor | Queen Creek & San Tan Valley

jperez@iniusa.org

Meet Janet
Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State  University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.

Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.

Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science. 

Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.  

Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.