Scottsdale's $20M 'road to nowhere' speeds ahead

Jun. 25—Back in 1985, the Talking Heads made quite a bit of money with the hit song "Road to Nowhere."

Thirty-eight years later, the talking heads of Scottsdale City Council approved $20 million for a project critics call "a road to nowhere."

Welcome to Miller Road.

Some in the northeast Scottsdale community say they didn't ask for this — and don't want it.

Yet, after the city applied for and received nearly $14 million from the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Arterial Life Cycle Program, Scottsdale has charged ahead on the project, dodging neighbors distraught over having a four-lane road just outside their backyard walls.

People like Frederic White, president of the Pinnacle Peak Reserve HOA, which has battled the Miller Road extension for years, think the city's "traffic reduction" reason for the project is just a smoke screen.

The real prize is a path to the riches represented by undeveloped land north of where Miller Road ends.

"The boogeyman in the room is up-zoning that land into apartments or some other sort of commercial development," White said.

Indeed, Councilwoman Solange Whitehead confirmed the road will not lead to nowhere for long.

"The land north of Happy Valley (Road) will be sold and developed so this road will no longer be a dead-end road," Whitehead said.

Though the north-of-Happy-Valley development was not part of any presentations on the Miller Road completion project, Dan Worth, the city's Public Works director, confirmed Whitehead's statement.

"Our current Transportation Action Plan shows Miller/Hayden Road continuing to the north from Happy Valley to Dynamite Boulevard," he said.

He said another extension of Miller Road north "will likely be timed to coincide with future development of large areas of vacant land currently owned by the Arizona State Land Department."

Even so, some are wondering why the city is spending $20 million — $15 million for actual construction on top of millions in prep work — for such a small stretch of road that seems to have little short-term function.

"We don't anticipate high traffic volumes between Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley initially," Worth allowed, "but volumes will increase in the future after the additional segments to the north are built."

The public works director did not dispute the extraordinary price-per-mile of the Miller Road extension, which received a 70% grant from MAG.

"The cost of this project is high given the length of road," Worth acknowledged, "but the project includes a large bridge spanning Rawhide Wash, which adds significantly to the cost."

By comparison, on Thomas Road, the city plans to spend less than $5 million on a 1.6 mile "complete street/road diet" plan that has also received MAG funding.

Short road, big price

At Deer Valley Road, North Hayden Road becomes North Miller Road, which continues through Pinnacle Peak Road before abruptly stopping in the middle of a neighborhood.

Less than a mile later, Miller Road begins again, ending — finally — a half mile after that, at Happy Valley Road.

That's how it is now.

The city plans to "finish" Miller Road, so that a four-lane avenue would run all the way from Pinnacle Peak Road to Happy Valley Road — but Happy Valley is only a two-lane route.

As a commenter complained during a virtual meeting explaining the Miller Road project in early 2021, "We now have a quiet neighborhood that will have 22,000 cars passing by every day and connect to a two-lane street at Happy Valley?"

Indeed, according to material presented to the Transportation Commission at its May 16, 2021, meeting, "The 2040 travel demand forecast from MAG for this new 1-mile segment ranges from 22,000 vehicles per day near Pinnacle Peak Road to 17,500 vehicles per day near Happy Valley Road."

According to the agenda, the project follows the General Plan goal of "Relieve Traffic Congestion."

"Completing this connection," the project website states, "will create a new option for north/south travel beyond Scottsdale and Pima roads and provide a direct connection to the Hayden Road/Loop 101 interchange."

Miller Road turns into Hayden Road at Deer Valley Road — 1 mile south of Pinnacle Peak Road. One mile south of Pinnacle Peak Road, Hayden Road connects with the Loop 101.

City Council members, who on June 13 unanimously voted for the Miller Road extension, were asked to explain their votes, including why drivers on Scottsdale or Pima roads would instead take an expanded Miller Road, as the presentation promised.

In her answer, Whitehead did not address why someone would use Miller Road as an alternative.

Indeed, she stressed, "I've been negotiating on behalf of these (Pinnacle Reserve) residents all along. Initially, transportation set the speed at 40 mph. This was negotiated down to 35 mph."

Yet that makes it appear all the less likely as an alternative to Scottsdale and Pima roads, which have higher speed limits.

Construction playpen

In any case, a former nature's oasis in the middle of desert-to-houses developments has become a construction playpen.

Along what will soon be Miller Road, a quail squawks, perhaps in protest, from a 4-foot high backyard wall as heavy equipment operators pull up trees.

A roadrunner races past a concrete mixer, with piles of rocks, uprooted bushes, huge coils of wire (to be used underground) and portable toilets framing the scene.

This once-quiet neighborhood is now roaring with excavator engines, rumbling trucks and the beep-beep-beep of big rigs in reverse.

Far from reverse, however, the construction project is moving full-speed-ahead, perhaps a micro version of the fast-changing landscape of North Scottsdale, once sleepy, now bustling.

At its June 13 meeting, Council unanimously approved paying nearly $15 million to Hunter Contracting "for construction phase services for the Miller Road: Pinnacle Peak Road to Happy Valley Road (SH02) project."

Council previously awarded a slightly smaller amount to Haydon Construction Company, but, for reasons not revealed, its contract was "canceled."

Like most projects, this one swears it will involve all "stakeholders."

According to the Miller Road agenda material, "Public outreach and community involvement will occur during the construction phase through meetings with property owners, stakeholders and members of the community."

Yet some in the neighborhood are wondering if their voices will ever be heard.

White fired off an email to City Council before the June 13 meeting:

"We as a community have come to you many times during the past two years detailing how our peaceful Pinnacle Peak Reserve community is going to be damaged by noise and crime when the Miller Road extension goes through Rawhide Wash, pleading that you stop the project or at a minimum help out the citizens with noise and speed abatement ... at a minimum do that right thing and help out the community by putting in a sound wall such that the road noise will not travel throughout the community."

Robert DeVito, another resident of Pinnacle Reserve, also emailed the council:

"I ask that the city re‐evaluate the Miller Road extension project and pause the project until there is appropriate funding to finish the project with a sound barrier wall.

"Including a sound barrier wall would help preserve the peaceful quality of life in our community that we currently enjoy prior to a road extension."

Cristina Brunsman chimed in via email: "I am writing to you on behalf of our homeowners who live along the wash in Pinnacle Peak Reserve. The road height and the noise from all the cars will greatly impact the home values and quality of life for these residents."

She also asked for sound-blocking walls.

Hitting a wall

Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield asked about sound-blocking walls at the June 13 meeting. She noted higher sound walls "had been negotiated with neighbors" — but now seemed to "have gotten dropped down."

"There was a request at one point to raise one of those walls to hopefully help mitigate sound," Alison Tymkiw, the city engineer, acknowledged.

"However, in order to do anything those walls we would have to raise them like 9 or 10 feet in the air which is not feasible."

In an email to the Progress, Pinnacle Peak resident Dan Lundberg challenged that, saying he received a quote from a contractor to build a sound wall for around $200,000.

That would be about 1% of the $20 million budget.

Meanwhile, the project appears to be in full-speed-ahead mode.

According to the city's website on construction projects, the Miller Road extension "Utility relocation began in January 2022. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and be complete in the spring of 2024."

While many residents have complained vehemently about "road diets" that substitute motorized vehicle lanes for bike lanes, this one comes as a "complete street" package.

"The new segment of roadway," the project narrative explains, "will include two lanes of travel in each direction, bike lanes and detached sidewalks with landscaped buffers on either side of the street."

Fighting for years

The city stresses that this project qualifies as "nothing new."

"The decision to install the Miller Road Bridge at Rawhide Wash was part of the City's approved Transportation Master Plan and has been included in City planning documents since 1991," the narrative states.

Also nothing new are the outraged voices of those who live in the neighborhood.

At the Sept. 14, 2021, council meeting, according to the minutes: "Dan Lundberg presented a citizen petition asking the city for concessions and modifications to the Miller Road extension project, including open productive dialogue with residents; traffic calming speed limits and traffic safety; and noise and light abatement."

At the same meeting, Lundberg's neighbor Scott Smith complained about a lack of communication on the project, adding that he was not aware of any public auction for the undeveloped land north of Happy Valley Road and thus did not understand the rush to complete Miller Road.

Nicole Forbes, another Pinnacle Reserve neighbor, also said she was not informed of the project until the last minute.

"Get rid of this whole project, at the very least delay to allow our neighbors — our community — to band together," she said.

No residents spoke in favor of the project.

Councilwoman Betty Janik asked Worth how long the project could be delayed.

He didn't give a direct answer, but said the Prop. 400 funding "goes away in 2025." (The half-cent tax will expire then unless voters approve another extension.)

"We've gotten a lot of input," Worth said, at the Sept. 14, 2021, meeting. "We've been getting public input for eight months on this project. And we are looking at ways to incorporate as much of it as we possibly can ...

"We hope to make the project acceptable."

After Whitehead moved to approve the Miller Road project, it was approved unanimously.

Before voting, Councilman Tom Durham said "I haven't taken a hard look at this project," but promised to reach out to all those who expressed concerns.

Littlefield — after noting signs have been in place for years indicating Miller Road would be extended — also pledged to work with residents to find compromises.

A few months before that City Council meeting, a May 20, 2021, presentation city staff gave the Transportation Commission noted of 75 comments received after virtual meetings on the Miller Road extension, 21 people "stated support," while 10 "stated opposition."

However, a Progress review of the 75 comments showed over 40 expressing concerns — if not outright fury.

"Put quite simply, the taxpaying residents of this ZIP code do not want this road put in," one said.

"Our back fence faces Miller and we are very disappointed to learn that a four lane through street will now be 20 feet from our quiet backyard," another added.

One said the Miller Road expansion "will absolutely ruin the quality of life for residents in Los Portones and the surrounding communities."

Another resident was "extremely upset by this project ... This is an absolutely horrific plan."

And one resident said this was a sad illustration of a trend:

"We elected the present Council to slow down/stop more expansion of urban Scottsdale. Please stop destroying (the) desert."

But the city decided to move Miller Road ahead, satisfying the likes of this neighbor, who reflects the 21 who supported the project:

"Looks good! Get it going!!!"