Road Funds for Queen Creek Could Be En Route: Senate OKs Bill to Allow Transportation Loans From State

By Sarah J. Boggan, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

May 22–Queen Creek’s pitch to get state money to alleviate roads choked by booming growth got a nod from the state Senate Monday.

Though it’s morphed from what the town originally proposed, Senate Bill 1097 is up for House approval next, said Mark Young, Queen Creek’s intergovernmental liaison.

Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders said changes to the town’s proposed legislation are positive.

While Queen Creek’s original proposal provided outright transportation funding for booming cities and towns on the outskirts of Phoenix, the current bill provides for transportation loans from the state.

Known as the congestion mitigation fund, the bill would provide for loan funding to the tune of $10 million this year.

As it stands now, the loan program allows those using it to pick their own terms for repayment.

Young said the interest-free state loans would be made available to 12 cities and three counties which qualify because they are more than 50 percent over the average growth rate in the state for the past five years.

Pinal County is one of the three eligible counties, along with Yavapai and Mohave counties.

“It’s got a good shot of being included in the state budget,” Young said. “This establishes the program.”

Queen Creek is about $150 million short of an estimated $250 million needed to construct roadways to handle existing demands.

“Everybody’s realizing that Queen Creek can really use the help,” Sanders said.

“It’s not like we’re asking them to pay our way, we’re on our way, and we just need someone to open the door for us.”

Sanders has been meeting with state legislators to tell them about Queen Creek’s transportation plight, especially because the town sees 75 percent of its traffic in the form of pass-through commuters from Pinal County.

“Queen Creek’s a little bitty town of 24,000 people with a heck of a transportation need,” Sanders said. “The need isn’t necessarily for our citizens, it’s also for those that pass through. This would help with quality of life.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

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