Pinal County SATS enters final phase

Pinal County Department of Public Works wrapped up its second round of public open houses last week at Stanfield Elementary School. As the Pinal County Small Area Transportation Study (SATS) nears its completion, these open houses served to present the initial findings and recommendations of the draft plan for Pinal County to the public.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by several members of the Planning Department from the City of Maricopa, Councilman Stephen Baker, Tony Smith who serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission and several other area residents.

Area residents had an opportunity to ask questions about the study.

The purpose of the Pinal County SATS has been to assess the county’s current transportation conditions and develop a roadway and transit plan that can accommodate the anticipated growth of the county over the next 20 years.

To better assess and represent Pinal County’s diversity, the study area was broken into three smaller components; Eastern, North Central and Western study areas. Each area identified was evaluated for its unique needs with regards to population distribution, growth rate and connectivity to surrounding areas.

The findings from each of these three areas, combined with the transportation issues and characteristics that are common to the entire county, will be represented in the final reports. By establishing an improvement program that will identify and prioritize transportation projects, which will be necessary to support the county’s growth over the next two decades, the county can begin an implementation plan.

The Pinal County SATS began in July 2005. Phase I focuses on evaluating and defining existing and future conditions around the county. Phase II has been the development or criteria and plans for improvements. Bringing these plans to the public, collecting comments from the public, is a very important part of the study.

Many questions about future plans and how they will affect Maricopa were posed at the meeting. Councilman Baker questioned the accuracy of the traffic predictions for SR 347, suggesting they were assessed too low. “Seeing such a limited amount of roads [existing and planned] is a turn off for potential employers,” commented Baker. “We need something from the county perspective on planning.”

Andy Smith explains some of the details of the transportation strategies recommended for the county.

Project Managers from Pinal County, Andy Smith and Doug Hansen noted that one challenge Maricopa faces is being surrounded by Indian Reservations. “David Snider and the Board of Supervisors are working with the Indian Communities on a monthly basis,” stated Smith. “A recent change within the tribal government has set us back.” Hansen, however, emphasized, “The SATS make no assumptions about what will happen on Tribal land.”

“The Maricopa model is not true to fact. It’s assuming too much traffic is coming back to Casa Grande,” said Baker. “We need short term solutions. Future employers have to be able to see the light.”

The final phase of the countywide study will be the completion of the draft and final reports, which will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval. The draft and reports will take into consideration comments from the Transportation Advisory Committee, stakeholders and the general public.

More information about the Pinal County SATS is available on the county web site.