JWP Sidewalk Project
The City of Maricopa has installed a new sidewalk on the east side of John Wayne Parkway as part of a $2 million median beautification project. It is expected to open this week. [Brian Petersheim Jr. photo]

A new sidewalk on the east side of John Wayne Parkway will soon make it easier – and safer – to walk between Edison and Smith-Enke roads.

The area, which runs about a quarter of a mile in front of the Edison Pointe commercial center, had an improved shoulder with a manicured dirt area to walk along.

Now with a sidewalk, that walk will be easier, according to Ross Renner, transportation engineer for community improvement projects for the City of Maricopa.

“The State Route 347 sidewalk project, Edison Road to Smith-Enke, is an ADOT-led project,” Renner said. “It started on Feb. 14 and will be completed this week.”

Renner conducted a final walk-through of the project Monday morning and the sidewalk will likely open to pedestrians this week.

The improvement will make walking on the east side of the street safer, and dovetails nicely with the recently-completed project enhancing the center median from the overpass to the city’s northern border. The $2 million project will receive its centerpiece when the city receives permission from ADOT to install a stylized “M” monument in the median at the city’s northern border.

The monument originally was to be installed Jan. 31 but was halted at the last minute. The 14-foot-tall monument, which is more than 20 feet wide, is to be installed in the median to greet those entering the city from the north.

The City changed the location of the monument prior to installation, which reopened review of the project by ADOT. During the review, ADOT determined a barrier was needed around the monument to redirect vehicles in case of an accident. Three concrete pylons already installed north of Lakeshore Drive mark the monument’s eventual location.

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1 COMMENT

  1. It’s kind of sad that this qualifies as news in Maricopa, that something so basic as sidewalks could be an exciting development for this town. Don’t get me wrong, I’m actually seriously glad about this story too. I used to live in Mesa and would bike everywhere all the time, but I basically gave up biking when I moved to Maricopa because I fear for my life every time I pedal around the streets here. There’s still a long way to go before Maricopa is safe for cars let alone pedestrians and bikers though, when we still live along one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the entire state.