By Matt Roy, Independent Newsmedia

During a meeting punctuated by shouts of anger and frustration, a gallery of Sun City West residents raised concerns about traffic safety.

A group of nearly a dozen showed up to speak at the Roads, Traffic and Safety Forum March 22 at PORA in Sun City West. The main issue voiced by attendees was road safety, especially for golf car drivers.

“I think it’s very dangerous,” said Sun City West resident Robert Baron. “This community was designed as a golf community.”

Increased traffic and confusing striping on key roadways in the community create a risky environment for golf car drivers, with motorists in the neighborhood regularly following too close and often using left turn lanes as passing lanes, he said.

Sun City West resident Larry Mendelssohn echoed that concern.

“Two years ago I was hit on Camino and very seriously hurt,” Mr. Mendelssohn said.

He was driving a car, waiting to make a left turn, when another driver trying to pass in the left lane collided with his vehicle. He blamed the way the stripes are applied to roads in the community.

“On Camino between R.H. Johnson and Beardsley, it’s too narrow for lines like that. There is a hazard I believe, it’s scary,” he added.

The issue is not limited to Sun City West, as neighboring age-restricted community Sun City faces similar problems.

The roads committee at PORA and a similar committee of the Sun City Home Owners Association comprises a diverse group of agencies, with representatives from the community, PORA, PRIDES, Maricopa County Sherrif’s Office, the posses, Arizona Department of Transportation and Maricopa County Department of Transportation.

The panelists at PORA last week endured more than 30 minutes of passionate public input in the Sun City West meeting, including questions, anecdotes and the occasional yelling match. Shouts of “Go back to what we had!” and “Why was it changed?” rang out.

Three times, PORA board member Jerry Overton implored the crowd to observe decorum.

John Counts, a senior civil engineer for MCDOT, also responded to the crowd’s consternation.

The road striping in some locations was changed several years ago to try and reduce incidents of side swiping. The change came only after residents complained about the problem and petitioned for change, he said.

Mr. Counts looked into records of golf car accidents going back to 2010 and his search turned up only one accident during that time along Granite Valley Drive, one on 151st Avenue and another on Williams Road. Camino del Sol had three reported accidents in that time, he said.

MCDOT continues to study road conditions in the Sun Cities, Mr. Counts added.

MCDOT plan

Following the public comments, agency representatives offered hope for improved safety.

“We’re in the process of creating a new Active Transportation Plan,” said Bryan Pahia, a public information officer for MCDOT.

His agency is working to identify needs for bikers and pedestrians in the community, as well as those using alternative modes of transportation, he said. According to a handout he presented, MCDOT needs the public’s help to develop and implement the plan.

“MCDOT is interested in your input and is currently developing an interactive map and other materials to receive comments,” according to the postcard-sized flyer. He urged public attendance at the next roads committee meetings in both communities. The Sun City West committee next meets 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26 at the PORA office, 13815 Camino del Sol, while the SCHOA Roads and Safety Committee meets 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 19 at the SCHOA office, 10401 W. Coggins Drive.

MCDOT spokeswoman Nicole Moon expanded on what attendees can expect at the meetings.

“A representative from MCDOT’s systems planning branch will provide an overview of the purpose, need and process related to the Active Transportation Plan. Residents will also be given an opportunity to provide input at the meeting and after the meeting via the interactive web map,” she said in a prepared statement.

Sun Cities residents who want to provide input for the plan can contact Reed Kempton, a senior planner for MCDOT, at 602-506-7742 or reedkempton@mail.maricopa.gov. The agency will also be launching a new website to garner public input.

Posse improvements

John Merkel, representing the Sherrif’s Posse of Sun City West on the panel, reported the organization has seen a breakthrough, which will increase the presence of their volunteers on the streets.

“A significant group of our posse just got their intermediate training done,” Mr. Merkel said.

As has been reported (“Added training makes Posse recruits hesitant,” Sun City West Independent, Jan. 25, 2017), the posses in the Sun Cities have seen their ranks decimated by regulations and restrictions imposed by District Judge G. Murray Snow in the wake of a racial profiling case against Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

As of January, Sun City West only had four volunteers certified to direct traffic out of nearly 100 members. In the past, Posse members had been able to manage traffic around roadway incidents while waiting for MCSO deputies to arrive.

Since that time, MCSO has begun offering some of the required coursework at locations in the Sun Cities, making it easier for volunteers to attend and complete the courses. Mr. Merkel said nearly half of the Sun City West patrolling posse are about to get their certification, having completed the required coursework. They are now only waiting on the county to finish the paperwork.

Mary Heiser, Sun City Posse commander, said her organization has also seen training improvements over the past months.

“We do have about 25 that will be ready to go back out into the streets (for traffic control) as soon as MCSO lets us,” she said. “We have completed all of the intermediate training.”

Ms. Heiser also agreed that traffic safety is a problem in the community.

“A golf car is not a car,” she said. “They shouldn’t be driving them as if they are cars. When they turn corners going too fast, some of them flip over. I think that is a major issue.”

More MCSO patrols

Capt. Paul Chagolla, MCSO District 3, said the Sherrif’s Office will be increasing patrols in the Sun Cities to specifically address traffic safety, as had been previously reported (“Road work, enforcement addressed,” Sun City Independent, March 22, 2107).

By allocating more patrols in the Sun Cities, MCSO leaders plan to hand out more citations for speeding and dangerous driving. Deputies will also collect community-specific data to help deputies know where to focus their efforts, Mr. Chagolla said.

He explained more about their plans by email after the Sun Cities committee meetings.

“Sun City, Sun City West and Youngtown will experience increased traffic enforcement in locations where there are frequent traffic collisions, and where speeding, stop light or stop sign violations are prevalent,” he stated. “However, for the purposes of the traffic enforcement assignments, the number of deputies providing the extra enforcement will vary according to data reviews.”

In Sun City, increased patrols will soon focus on 99th Avenue between Union Hills Drive and Grand Avenue and along Bell Road between 99th and 114th avenues. In Sun City West, enforcement will focus on R.H. Johnson between Grand Avenue and Bell Road, according to Mr. Chagolla.

After that, MCSO will increase patrolling in Youngtown, especially near school bus stops and along Agua Fria Ranch Parkway, he added.