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Housing market is healthy PAGE RE1
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS....................... 6 Residents push back at Rivulon apartment project.
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Homeowners braced for Ocotillo Road fight BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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fter months of looking for a compromise that will satisfy residents, town officials are back to their original plan to take land from 46 property owners for the widening of Ocotillo Road from 148th Street to Greenfield Road. But they’ll have a fight on their hands. Gilbert staff sat down last week with the affected homeowners to explain why it needed 130 feet of right-of-way – 65 feet on each
side of Ocotillo Road from its center. This will allow the town to upgrade the two-lane roadway into four travel lanes and a center-turn lane. “The Town of Gilbert is following all the rules and we’re doing it by the books,” said Town Engineer David Fabiano. “We’re not here to hurt or harm anybody.” Nine of the properties are in Gilbert’s jurisdiction and 37 are in Maricopa County. Fabiano said Ocotillo Road has been planned as a minor arterial for a couple of decades and without the improvement, con-
Cyclist files $800K BUSINESS............. 20 claim against town, county over mishap
gestion will only get worse. Although Ocotillo Road currently dead -ends at Greenfield and at Higley roads, Gilbert plans to rectify that with a 545-foot-long bridge with four travel lanes. The “signature bridge” over the future phase of Gilbert Regional Park will not only provide direct access to the public amenity but a straight east-west travel corridor between Queen Creek and Chandler. About 4,200 cars per day now travel on
see OCOTILLO page 10
Strike up the band!
Gilbert man’s business teaches gun safety.
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
SPORTS................. 26 ALA Gilbert girls’ golf tees off the right way COMMUNITY........................................15 BUSINESS.............................................20 SPORTS..................................................26
GETOUT.................................................29 CLASSIFIEDS.......................................34
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bicyclist wants $800,000 in damages from Gilbert and the county, claiming their closure of a bike lane for a road project led to his accident. Curt Shumway filed a notice of claim Sept. 8 for $400,000 with Gilbert and another $400,000 with Maricopa County, a partnering jurisdiction on the road construction on East Riggs Road near Key Biscayne Drive, where the accident occurred. “This claim is still under review,” said town spokeswoman Jenni-
YOUR EAST VALLEY
HOME LOAN SPECIALIST!
see CLAIM page 7
Leanna Gray NMLS #1673286
Mortgage Loan Originator www.leannagrayloan.com
Nathan Benitez, right, Gilbert High Orchestra teacher and Marching Band Tech gives some tips to Tacen Asay during the Gilbert Tiger Pride Marching Band’s appearance at a regional tournament at Basha High. Now the band needs the community’s help to get to the London New Year’s Day Parade. The band is holding a fundraiser Friday, as you’ll read on page 4. (Greg Skinner/Gilbert Tiger Pride Marching Band)
Get $250 off closing costs NMLS #ID 409001