Montecito Neighborhood Group

SPEED HUMP LETTER TO CITY

May 14, 2001

May 14, 2001
1701 E. Roma Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Greg Stanton Councilman
City of Phoenix
200 W. Washington St.11th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003-1611

Dear Mr. Stanton,
We the board members of the Montecito Neighborhood Association feel we have been politically manipulated in our recent Fight Back. In 1997 we had a traffic study completed on 17th Street, from Indian School to Campbell, through our neighborhood. We were told, by Traffic Mitigation, after the study that we were eligible for three speed humps along this stretch of 17th Street. We were told that the Phoenix Traffic Department would pay for the speed humps but that we would have to pay for their painting. Also being told that we could place signage along 17th street and were given options to review. At that time we formed a sub-committee to review the options and make recommendations to our board.
During this time we received notice that our neighborhood was to be involved in a Fight Back. This Fight Back was three years long and began in March of 1998. This Fight Back was eventually chaired by Lisa Hubbard, from the Neighborhood Services Department of the City of Phoenix. We mentioned out mitigated speed humps from the first meetings of Fight Back and were assured that the Fight Back money could help up pay for the painting of these speed humps and to be patient. At the second to the last meeting of Fight Back in February 2001 we were told that there was enough money to do the three 17th Street speed humps and one on each of our 4 East-West streets. Lisa brought the new forms that needed to be signed by neighbors nearest the site of the speed hump locations. These new forms were a shock to us, not only did we have to apply for the 4 new speed humps but also for the 3 mitigated ones.
We turned in one form for one East-West street, Glenrosa Ave., as a test run in February and the counters were put in the street. We received our notice from traffic that if we wanted a speed hump at that location it would cost our Association $1200.00! We are willing to succumb to the fact that we are not going to succeed in getting speed humps on our 4 East-West streets, but we want the ones on 17th street that were promised over 3 years ago. At our final meeting of Fight Back we were told that there are no funds left for any of our speed humps and that the time span had run out on the 17th Street traffic mitigation.
In conclusion we feel that the City of Phoenix has manipulated us into thinking we were going to get the painting of our speed humps paid for and in reality it was a ploy to rob us of what was originally conceded, the speed humps themselves.

Sincerely,
Montecito Neighborhood Board of Directors