Hutchison: Forgoing Mockingbird Lane sidewalk is wrong decision

Raise your hand if you moved to Paradise Valley for “rural elegance.”

Anyone? Now raise your hand is you know what “rural elegance” is. Best I can guess it is some made up term realtors, or in this case your council members, are using to try sell an image to rich people.

The majority of your council members have decided “semi-rural aesthetic” is more important than pedestrian safety. The majority have “voted” to not add a sidewalk to the east side of the North Mockingbird Lane project even though this part of the project is 95% covered by a grant.

The overall grant funding of approximately $1.3 million to add the east sidewalk, and bike lanes may now be at risk without the inclusion of the sidewalk.

I have presented the council with the facts on why we need a sidewalk. Part of the Capital Improvement Plan is to bring this section of road up to arterial roadway standards.

Paradise Valley’s general plan is an expression of residents’ preferences, long term perspective, and to improve quality of life. The plan includes safe routes to school, and sidewalks was something the residents spoke out as important to them.

There happens to be two schools located at the south end of Mockingbird Lane. Speed mitigation is being added to the projects proving that speed and reckless driving is an issue on this road, yet we aren’t giving residents sidewalks on both sides of the street. Landscaping planted in the right of way by several property owners forces pedestrians to walk in the street and there isn’t even a way to access the sidewalk on the west side of the street.

I live on the street and see people walking in the east side pavement all the time, kids even. North Mockingbird Lane could support a second sidewalk all within town-owned rights of way. Especially now while the town has grant funding to cover the majority of the cost. These were only some reasons I provided to council.

Paradise Valley is not rural no matter how much you say it. The residents don’t even treat it that way.

Look at how we landscape our homes. Furthermore, yellow street lines, constant traffic noise, the fact that I can hear resorts from my house continue to prove we are not rural, hasn’t been for many years, and isn’t going in that direction.

Just like I haven’t met one person that can understand why a sidewalk isn’t being added and I have yet to meet a person that cares about a rural appearance other than the council. If your goal is to “feel” semi-rural then why do we continue to approve resorts? Especially massive ones like the Ritz-Carlton.

Why do we approve the Super Bowl Host Committee to have large events here? Why do we allow residents to build homes that take up a large portion of their lot and include resort style amenities, if unfinished space is important?

We are we adding a bike lane on both sides of Mockingbird Lane with this project, yet I continue to hear “there is already a sidewalk on the west side.” Are we valuing bikers more than walkers?

I am disappointed that in September the council had agreed to move forward with the plan as it was presented with the east sidewalk. Then a squeaky wheel happened and that got the council to change their mind. The council decided to send the project scope to the Planning Commission in February, and the majority of the Planning Commission voted in favor of a sidewalk on the east side of Mockingbird Lane.

What was the point of sending this to the Planning Commission? In hopes they would be the bad guys, so someone else would shoot it down? If council went off what the Planning Commission decided then they should have taken their advise and said yes to the sidewalk. As I see it, the general plan included it, the council approved it, it passed the Planning Commission but we’re still not going to do it. Feels...off.

When you really step back and look at it, I feel like the council knows something that I don’t because if I had a visual up with all of this laid out, it should be very clear.

I think the council members that voted against the sidewalk are making a huge mistake for our future, safety of pedestrians and safety of school children walking to school. They are not living up to their duty as a council member and doing what is best for our community and following the general plan. I wish it were easier to get people to rally over a sidewalk but sadly it isn’t my superpower.

Email your council members for what matters to you, because they’re doing whatever they want… for them.