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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS Wednesday, November 30, 2016
www.ahwatukee.com
Get Out HE’S LANDED!
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Public has last chance to comment on South Mountain trail upgrades
Singing for joy AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS COVER STORY
BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer
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othing defines Ahwatukee more than its signature landmark, the South Mountain, looming over a sprawling quilt of red-tile roofed suburban neighborhoods. It plays a major role in residents’ quality of life and the region as a whole, attracting an estimated three million visitors a year and next week. Now, users will get a chance for their final say on some major improvements. “People don’t move out here for the cul-de-sacs. They move out here for the beauty,’’ said Laurel Arndt, an avid bicyclist and hiker who has lived in Ahwatukee for more than 30 years. After many years of little change, the park is now on the verge of a substantial update as it heads toward its 100th anniversary in 2024. A $23-million project will bring more parking at trailheads, better restrooms and improved ramadas during a five-year period starting this spring. Another phase of improvements is expected to stem from the South Mountain Trail and Preserve Master Plan. Residents will have their last opportunity to weigh in on the plan when the third in a series of public meetings will complete the public comment period. “It’s the biggest change we’ve ever had in South Mountain Park,’’ said City Council member Sal DiCiccio, a strong advocate for open space. “It’s going to be an amazing change for
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS .48
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PLOTTING THE FUTURE OF GOLF COURSES Lakes, Club West strategies differ
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SPORTS
DV BAND TRIUMPHS .21
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See
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
TRAIL UPGRADES on page 8
Dressed in holiday finery, Sadie Ramseyer, 7, plays jingle bells and sings along with the rest of the Kyrene de la Milenio Elementary School choir at the Festival of Lights Kick-Off Party in Ahwatukee last Saturday. For more on the party, see pages 18 and 27.
Ahwatukee’s share of billions in street improvement money: No one knows BUMMER
Pride lose title fight
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BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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hoenix officials plan to spend over $2.3 billion on street improvements over the next 35 years, so what can Ahwatukee residents expect as their fair share? Turns out the Street Transportation
Rolls Bowls.
Department doesn’t think of allocations that way. “It’s not necessarily based on fair share but rather on our data on the condition of the streets,” department special projects administrator Eileen Yazzie told the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee on Monday. That didn’t sit too well with several
committee members. Yazzie gave an overview of the street-repair portion of the city’s Transportation 2050 plan, which is built on the projected $17.7 billion in total revenue expected from the 0.03 percent increase in the sales tax voters OK’d last year. That brought to 0.07 percent the total fraction of sales tax that goes to
Rolls Bowls.
B i l t m o r e . Tu r n i n g s i g n i f i c a n t a s s e t s i n t o s i g n i f i c a n t c a s h .
B i l t m o r e . Tu r n i n g s i g n i f i c a n t a s s e t s i n t o s i g n i f i c a n t c a s h .
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PLANNING on page 8