Since February, 2022, CEDS has been assisting Save Our Sonoran Preserve with an effort to prevent a massive development from harming the 9600-acre Preserve in north Phoenix, Arizona. That battle culminated on July 1st, when the Phoenix City Council approved changes to the Desert Character Overlay District. However, Save Our Sonoran Preserve won several key concessions:
Previously, the City had required the developer to contribute $12 – 16 million toward Sonoran Desert Drive improvements to accommodate the substantial increase in traffic volume due to their home development.
Thanks to the nearly 2,000 area residents who signed the petition, Councilman Waring has become more supportive of our efforts which we are immensely grateful for.
Save Our Sonoran Preserve chair Gary Kirkilas will be asking Councilman Waring to serve in an advisory capacity for the Sonoran Desert Drive build out. Among the measures we’ll be pushing for are 1.) safer bike lanes, such as those either physically separated from traffic flow or a double white line for extra space from vehicles 2.) Traffic slowing measures like round-a-bouts, speed bumps or slower speed limits.