San Luis traffic redesign pushed back

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — A project to reroute traffic in the city's downtown will be delayed several months into early 2013 as the city and state seek to resolve residents' and merchants' concerns about the redesign.

At a recent meeting, San Luis City Council members related concerns from merchants and residents that the new design could eliminate needed parking spaces and cut off access to a westside street.

The preliminary design “still leaves open many questions,” said Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla, recognizing questions raised by merchants. “But there will still be time (to revise the design). We still have time. More public meetings are being organized (to gather comments) this year. This is nothing more than a concept.”

Because of public concerns so far raised, he said, the start of the project has been pushed back from next fall until March 2013.

The city's public works director, John Starkey, presented to the council the preliminary design, prepared by the Arizona Department of Transportation following a series of meetings with merchants and residents in the border city.

The $5 million project, funded by ADOT and federal grants, is designed to ease traffic congestion that results as lines of motorists traveling to and from Mexico follow Main Street through the heart of the Arizona border city's downtown commercial district.

In the redesign, Main Street, which now leads southbound traffic to the port of entry into San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., would end in a roundabout at the intersection of Urtuzuastegui Street, the first east-west street north of the border. That change would effectively limit traffic to shoppers patronizing businesses on Main.

Motorists and pedestrians traveling to Mexico, meanwhile, would travel south on Archibald Street to cross the border, while those coming to the United States would enter the country at First Avenue.

As part of the project, Main Street would get new paving, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, ramps for the disabled, plus new lighting.

Council members said constituents have raised concerns that the project could eliminate parking on Urtuzuastegui for people who have business downtown and could cut off access to San Luis Plaza Circle Drive, a residential street to the west of Archibald.

“This concept accomplishes most of what everyone wants,” Starkey said. “But even before the project is ready (to begin), it will come back to us and we will be able to propose changes.”