HISTORY OF CHANGE Through the 1970s and 1980s it would have been accurate to consider Gilbert Road as east Mesa. Today, however, Gilbert Road has unofficially become the point where East Mesa meets West Mesa. Primarily consisting of suburban, single-residence developments, a boom in Mesa’s growth ensured that this Neighborhood built out quickly between 1960 and 1980. Since that time, the residential areas north and south of Main Street have been generally well maintained. A few residential areas have suffered through the years due to a lack of property maintenance and reinvestment. The residential areas are generally well connected internally; however, they suffer from long blocks and a significant lack of connection to the primary streets, which reduces the level of neighborhood cohesion and pedestrian friendliness of the area. As shown on Map 20, the Gilbert and Main Neighborhood includes two suburban shopping nodes that are disconnected from other commercial areas and not integrated with surrounding residential areas. The first is located at the southwest corner of Gilbert Road and University Drive and currently suffers from a high vacancy rate. Additionally, the Consolidated Canal runs behind this property, but is not used as an asset. The second suburban node located at the northwest corner of Gilbert and Broadway Roads is smaller, but is also disconnected from other commercial areas and not integrated with surrounding residential areas. Much like Fraser/Sherwood, this Neighborhood also experienced a boom in the suburbanization of arterial street corridors. Because of its visibility, the suburban corridor development pattern along Main Street has become the dominant feature of this Neighborhood. The impression of these areas is that of parking lots, sign clutter, and traffic. That, in addition to narrow sidewalks with little or no shade placed near the street and multiple driveways cuts, results in an unfriendly pedestrian environment. Additionally, the bicycling environment is often a secondary consideration to the automobile with a narrow and uneven stripped lane that does not encourage use. The scale of the development within this corridor varies greatly from large-scale commercial areas with big-box and suburban, strip-retail developments that are well interconnected, but set back from the street by large parking fields to smaller-scale independent buildings physically separated from adjacent properties to significantly under-utilized automotive sales lots. While there has been some reinvestment in this corridor, commercial vacancies have become an issue. The demographic character of the area shows a high percentage of rental dwelling units, particularly in the southern portion of the neighborhood, an increasing percentage of Hispanic population, and a younger population comparing 2000 to 1990. This area appears to have slightly higher incomes compared to other parts of the Planning Area.
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