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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS Wednesday, January 25, 2017
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Freeway disclosures spark 1 newPLACE concerns about traffic BEST AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS of BEST safety and street impact 2016 2016 VOTING DEADLINE IS NEAR
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Ahwatukee Foothills News
Ahwatukee Foothills News
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BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
eight miles of Pecos Road and ruining desert and mountain views. Equally vocal concerns followed two other disclosures. Committee member Andrew Gasparro was alarmed that no median barrier has been planned for the four-lane “interim Pecos Road” that will move traffic during the freeway’s construction. And the panel learned that after more than 30 years of planning for the freeway, the city only now thinks it should study the impact of construction activity on traffic as far north as Ray Road. Theresa Dunn, spokeswoman for Connect 202 Partners, the public-private partnership
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presentation on the South Mountain Freeway’s design and construction Monday provoked new concerns about traffic, safety and its impact on the desert landscape. Revelations that sound-proof walls will extend as high as 50 to 60 feet along portions of the freeway prompted scorn as Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee member Michael Hinz remarked that the area will be home to “The Great Wall of Pecos Road.” “Ahwatukee is carrying everyone’s water in this project,” he complained, stating the freeway will create “a visual monstrosity” running along
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PLANNING on page 8
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Contributor)
Rob Sheehan of Ahwatukee voices his concerns about the South Mountain Freeway during a presentation by highway planners at Monday’s meeting of the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee.
Zzeeks Pizza robbery leaves owner grateful and moved BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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ot many serious crimes have a happy ending. Nor do they leave the victim feeling kindly about his neighborhood. But that’s exactly what happened Jan. 16 to owners Mark and Jodi Pectol and their
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crew after Zzeeks Pizza on 4825 E. Warner Road, Ahwatukee, was robbed by two brazen masked men at gunpoint. Mark Pectol was grateful that he trained his employees well, and that no one was hurt. And while the culprits remain at large, the pizzeria owner was moved by the outpouring of support he received from neighbors and patrons in the aftermath of the evening
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incident. “As long as no one was hurt, that’s the important thing,” said Pectol. Equally important, he said, is the reaction he has received from people who have inundated him with visits and calls of support. See
ROBBERY on page 6
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