SMF 202 lawsuit praise (Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe: 2015, house, neighborhood)

[DougStark]

Cheers and support for those that have contributed to this lawsuit to stop this freeway from ruining Ahwatukee.

[new2colo]

The freeway will get built. The lawsuit may slow the process, but it will happen. I keep reading comments by Ahwatukee residents through various online media outlets lamenting about how the freeway will destroy their quiet community. Last time I checked, Ahwatukee was a neighborhood in a city of 1.5 million. If you want quiet and slow paced living, being in a city that is so big is probably not a good idea. In any case, I cannot sympathize with a bunch of people who did not do their research about the proposed freeway prior to moving in the neighborhood. Why they feel that their carelessness should impact the mobility of the rest of us is a mystery to me.

[elcajones]

It needs to happen, it is a much needed freeway connection. West Valley- East Valley won't quite be such a horrible drive anymore. The people who purchased homes there weren't exactly under the impression that they were in the country in Ahwatukee were they? It's in a pretty damn urban area bordering large cities like Chandler and Tempe.

new2colo made my whole point already... The few friends I have that live in Ahwatukee are excited since I know them through business and in our business we are all over the valley. Getting to the southeast valley is pretty dreadful right now. At 6 AM this morning a experienced a parking lot of an I10 all the way from the Santan 202 until past the 60 merge. That's pretty early for traffic since most highways don't gridlock around here until closer to 7. The only ones that have it worse are the poor people coming in from the West side. The 202SM will benefit some of them as well. There is some relief needed badly. If we were speaking of a proud rural community I'd have there back. When your smack dab in a metro about 1 million people more in population than San Diego Metro (that's my home and I can't help but compare and contrast from there) don't stand in the way of progress. I'm also willing to wager a small bet that the better highway proximity will lead to higher property values.

Back home in the San Diego suburb of Santee, some locals fought the extension of the 52 to the 67. When it finally was built it brought a heck of a lot of benefits. Santee saw an explosion of new development as well as property value increases. Santee is damn expensive now compared to most of East County. The 52 made it a convenient and more central place to commute from. If I owned a house in Ahwatukee I'd try to look at the bright side. There is a very bright side.

[TempeAZnative]

The freeway should of been built 20 years ago and is overdo. If you moved in the path and you didn't do your due diligence that's on you.

[Wally Sconce]

NIMBY's...not in my back yard... hate freeways everywhere. They always want to fight freeways that were planned long before they arrived.

[Bungle]

ADOT responds to filing of legal action against South Mountain Freeway

Extensive environmental, public involvement process led to final decision

PHOENIX – While the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have not yet had an opportunity to review in detail the legal action filed against the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, the agencies are confident that any legal challenges will find that the law was followed in coming to a decision to construct this long-planned freeway.
Following an extensive environmental review process that encompassed more than a decade of comprehensive analysis, with various formal and informal opportunities for the public to learn about the project and provide comment, ADOT received a Record of Decision from the Federal Highway Administration in March 2015 to proceed with the project. Throughout the process, nearly 8,000 formal comments from community members were documented, responded to and considered by the study team in coming to the decision to construct the freeway.
The South Mountain Freeway has been a critical part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Freeway Program since it was first included in funding approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985. It was part of the Regional Transportation Plan funding passed by Maricopa County voters in 2004 through Proposition 400, and this freeway is the last piece to complete the Loop 202 and Loop 101 freeway system necessary for high-quality regional mobility. The South Mountain Freeway will significantly improve travel between the southeast and southwest areas of the Valley and help reduce congestion on Interstate 10. The freeway is also expected to promote economic development in the region.
The freeway will be constructed with four lanes in each direction – three general-use lanes and one HOV lane – and modern features that have made Arizona freeways stand apart from other states for a generation, including rubberized asphalt and aesthetics designed in partnership with the community. Construction of the $1.75 billion project is expected to take about four years under an innovative public-private partnership that will have a private developer design, construct and maintain the freeway for 30 years. This public-private partnership will reduce costs to taxpayers while accelerating construction.

For more information, or to review the extensive environmental documentation, visit Overview.

Read more at: azdot.gov/media/News

[KurtAZ]

Sorry....not going to get any pity from me. This freeway has been planned for over 20 years. Everyone KNOWS it was going to get built. If you bought in the path or near it, that is on you. No one forced you to purchase a home in Ahwautukee. Now you are just wasting more taxpayer's money by suing to stop it. Get over yourselves.

[ElleTea]

It has been marketed as a way to offer relief to congestion of I-10, when in reality it will be more of a truck route. That is where the noise complaint comes in.

Also, a lot of the research that went into the project in regards to environmental impacts is 20 years old. Out of date and not relevant to the impact of the project today.

[Bungle]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

It has been marketed as a way to offer relief to congestion of I-10, when in reality it will be more of a truck route. That is where the noise complaint comes in.

Also, a lot of the research that went into the project in regards to environmental impacts is 20 years old. Out of date and not relevant to the impact of the project today.

Just curious but did you read the environmental impact statement or just getting info from what you're reading online about the lawsuit?

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Bungle

Just curious but did you read the environmental impact statement or just getting info from what you're reading online about the lawsuit?

I have a friend who lives in Ahwatukee, and this is what she told me when we were talking about it recently.