Everyone who lives in Maricopa understands the headaches of State Route 347. Voted the 3^rd WORST commute in Arizona (only 3^rd????), the headaches caused by the congestion on the 347 is one thing we Maricopians have in common. Well, Traffic in Maricopa soon may get better!

More News & Fun Reading: Legal Marijuana Finally Coming To Maricopa?

Traffic in Maricopa Soon May Get Better

Well, our NEW MAYOR, Nancy Smith may have a solution, of sorts. Now, it won’t likely be the cure we need, but Mayor Nancy Smith thinks that synchronizing traffic lights on State Route 347 may at least help – and she plans to do what she can to make that happen.

“It’s interesting that you bring that up because coming from the (rural transportation) summit, which was held down at Harrah’s two days in a row, I noticed that I was stopped at the traffic lights between Harrah’s and just over the bridge every single time,” Mayor Smith said recently. “Then from that point on, they were all in sync and I moved smoothly.

“What I took away from that was: How do we make it one smooth ride? It does need to work smoother, so I’m going to see if there is anything that can be done.”

Smith made her comments last night (Friday September 16^th), just after the Arizona State Transportation Board had unanimously voted that control of SR 347 and SR 238 will be within city limits to Maricopa.

The city of Maricopa will now decide:

• Local permit processes for access or widening.
• Determining access points and design appropriately for the city, including determining whether roundabouts are the proper solution to mitigate traffic issues.
• Designating where traffic signals are placed, to maintain control of signals, including timing.
• Design standards, allowing the city to establish standards higher than those of Arizona Department of Transportation in landscaped medians as well as decorative, powder-coated light poles and other aesthetic elements.
• And control of access for developments and businesses.

Mayor Smith stated: “Our biggest desire is to be able to work with new businesses that need in-and-out access on the 347 and 238. We weren’t able to get that, when it was controlled by ADOT, because they’re so busy and so overwhelmed. Now that we have that control, it makes it so much easier for us to complete deals.”

She also shared: “I have posted a chart from the transportation summit, and if you look at that,  you go, ‘Now I know the challenges.’

Maricopa’s eventual takeover of SR 347 applies only to those sections of the state highways within the Maricopa city limits and does not apply to the segment of SR 347 from Interstate 10 to city limits. So traffic to and from I-10 may only receive minor beneficial affects of what should be correct within city limits.

Quinn Konold, a spokesman for Maricopa said “The city will continue to work with ADOT, its tribal partners, and all other appropriate jurisdictions to design a solution that adds additional capacity on SR 347 between Maricopa and I-10.”

So, ADOT will still be responsible for the planned widening of SR 347 north of Smith Enke Road to the city limits. This is still going through engineering designs and is planned for construction next year.

We can only hope and pray that this is a beginning to an eventual ease of traffic on Maricopa’s SR 347. For prime-time traffic monitoring, see the 347 TRAFFIC CAM on our main page.

That’s the BUZZ in Maricopa…