A lot of people turned out Tuesday for the regularly scheduled Buckeye City Council meeting, the majority of whom hoped to dissuade council members from extending Tuthill Road north to Yuma Road.
At issue was a proposal by the city to annex the Tuthill Road right-of-way, which currently deadends at the Roosevelt Canal.
While Tuesday’s agenda item did not include a proposal to actually build the road, both council members and residents at the meeting understood that the intention was to extend the road – eventually.
Extending Tuthill Road over the canal and about 800 feet to Yuma Road would provide access to a planned housing development on the east side of the road. It also would create another north-south arterial past a historic rural neighborhood.
A half dozen residents testified Tuesday, explaining that punching Tuthill Road through to Yuma would destroy the rural neighborhood by funneling much more traffic to and from Yuma Road.
Aerie VanHofwegen, who lives in the neighborhood west of Tuthil Road, said council members need to understand that changing the community changes what “makes Buckeye Buckeye.”
“What we have here is the rural great thing about Buckeye,” VanHofwegen said. “And this proposal is going to create a massive divide across our community and it’s a hazzard.”
After some discussion, council members eventually voted to annex the right-of-way, explaining that taking control allows the city to work with community residents when a road is eventually constructed.
Failing to annex the right-of-way leaves it in the hands of Maricopa County, giving Buckeye residents no voice in its development.
No timeline was given on when the project might begin.
