Monroe Avenue approved for 3 lanes

The Monroe Avenue lane debate resulted in compromise. Instead of choosing between two lanes or four lanes, Buckeye City Council voted to meet in the middle with a middle lane.

The vote, however, was not unanimous and not without deliberation.

Development Services Director Brian Craig presented a staff recommendation at the Aug. 26 special city council meeting to approve a permanent three-lane street design with a center turning lane. This marks the latest step in the Monroe Reconstruction Project, which began in 2022 with the Downtown Specific Area Plan. The project is now in its third phase: installing interim landscaping as part of the downtown enhancement program. At the same time, the design concept review stage is getting underway to finalize plans for Monroe’s reconstruction and outline updates to utilities such as water and sewer. According to Craig, these below-grade infrastructure components typically make up about 80% of reconstruction costs.

“We have to nail down what permanent configuration we want in downtown, and that will help dictate what we do with utility infrastructure, storm drainage infrastructure and all the things that occur below grade," he said. “As we go do this, it’s really about an economy of scale; a dig-once policy. Once you tear up the road, we don’t want to have to constantly be under construction. Can we achieve the vision of the DSAP but also take care of our needs from a utility and infrastructure perspective at the same time?”

Buckeye Main Street Coalition President Candi Youngker emphasized the importance of Monroe Street as a community hub. “Main Street is more than pavement. It’s a place that welcomes locals and visitors alike. Monroe is more than just a roadway; it’s our front porch. It’s where neighbors meet, families and friends gather, and where our history is held. Our goal is not just to move cars, but to move people into businesses, onto the sidewalks, and into experiences that keep them coming back. This is an investment in our local economy,” she said.

During the public hearing, one resident expressed concerns about pedestrian safety at the Monroe and 9th Street intersection, citing multiple near-collisions he had witnessed. In response, Craig noted that a shoulder signal was installed on Aug. 26 and that additional signals are scheduled for installation next year.

Council comments

The discussion evolved into a debate over what should come first—the road improvements or the businesses they are meant to support.

District 2 Councilmember Jamaine Berry shared that many residents, along with police officers and firefighters in his district, oppose reducing Monroe from four lanes, at least until there is what he called a “good reason” to make the change.

"I understand we want to make it more pedestrian friendly, but we have not given the community anything to walk to. If you want to call a cigarette store or a liquor store walkable, it’s not walkable for kids," Berry said. "If we're not giving them anything to walk to, put the road back to the way it was because that’s what the people like. That’s what they wanted. They are the taxpayers. They live down here. This is the road that they not only just come and just leisure, but this is how they get to and from home, to and from work. This is their road.”

Berry argued it would be more responsible to wait until more businesses come to the downtown before restructuring a road that he said is important for current resident travel.

"If we can't listen to what they say that means that this council is out of touch because we are voted by the people to represent the people and be their voice. And our job is to listen to their voice," Berry said. "If they want four lanes, even if it's just interim, just for the four to seven years, let's put the four lanes back to what they want and then we come back to the table, put it back up for a vote, and maybe by then three lanes will look better. But, right now, it doesn't make any sense."

At Mayor Eric Orsborn’s urging, Craig reviewed the process used to create the DSAP, noting that it incorporated input from a 90-member stakeholder group, 865 community survey responses, and feedback from 440 attendees at two open house events.

District 6 Councilmember Clay Goodman thanked Berry for sharing his perspective and acknowledged the complexity of a decision that will shape Buckeye for years to come.

"How do we set up Buckeye for success in the future?" he asked. "Not tomorrow, but long after we're gone. What's that? What's this city going to look like? What's it going to be known for? I think this is one of those decisions that's very hard. We really need to think about what will be and not maintaining what is."

Orsborn added his stance that the city's responsibility is to create a suitable environment for businesses and then it's up to the business to be successful: "What we can control in the downtown is the environment and that the objective is not the throughway ... it's really creating the environment or that destination for people to show up to." He noted that the city has spoken with businesses interested in moving downtown if it was the correct environment and "a bit more quaint in a destination." Many of those businesses, such as restaurants, he said, would need outdoor seating areas in addition to sidewalks that would meet ADA requirements.

“We hope to get businesses down here, but we’ve got to get something to get them to come down here,” District 6 Councilmember Craig Heustis added. “Slow the speed down, give them decent traffic through downtown so that we’ve got other restaurants to go down there.”

The vote and next steps

Berry moved to keep Monroe at four lanes on an interim basis, but the motion failed, with only District 4 Councilmember Curtis Beard joining him in support.

Vice Mayor Craig Heustis then introduced a motion to approve staff’s recommendation for a three-lane design to be completed within the next year. The motion passed, with only Berry and Beard voting against it.

The interim restriping phase will begin with design development and community outreach through the end of this year. Potholing and utility verification are scheduled for March and April 2026, with roadwork planned for the summer — downtown’s slow season. The project is expected to be completed and closed out by August 2026.