COMMUNITY BLOG

 

“Speeding has always been an issue,” says Joe Draper, City of Mesa Traffic Studies Analyst and Las Sendas resident. In a study conducted by the City of Mesa earlier this year, one in three drivers on Eagle Crest was driving more than five miles per hour over posted speed limits, with similar results found on Ridgecrest and Red Mountain.

 

In such an active community with walkers, runners, and bikers — not to mention our landscaping crews — there’s a lot of activity on and near our roads. Everyone must follow posted speed limit signage to prevent accidents and keep our community safe.

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that “For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities.” Speeding becomes increasingly dangerous when there’s bad weather, road work, or limited nighttime visibility.

 

Pedestrians and bikers also need to follow all road rules for their safety and the safety of others. This includes not walking or running on the roads. The City of Mesa Code of Ordinances requires pedestrians to stay off streets wherever sidewalks are available unless they are in a crosswalk (Reso. 990, 1771).

 

Unfortunately, we cannot install speed humps on collector roads, such as Ridgecrest, Eagle Crest, and Red Mountain due to the City of Mesa’s requirements and regulations. That being said, the City included Las Sendas collector roads as part of a more extensive study to potentially modify the shape of medians to encourage speed limit adherence. Additionally, requests for more Police Department presence (patrols and speed radars) within our community have been made to combat speeding.

 

Adding stop signs on our roads has also been suggested. After speaking further with the City of Mesa Transportation Department, we have found that stop signs are only recommended for right-of-way passages and not for speeding. Traffic studies performed by the City tell that unwarranted stop signs have a high violation rate, increase speeds between stop signs, and give pedestrians a false sense of security. With all this data, the City of Mesa will not consider additional stop signs on our public streets.

 

Most importantly, as Las Sendas residents, each of us can contribute to safe roads and neighborhoods by following posted speed limits and watching out for our neighbors.

 

This time of year, desert species trees like Mesquites and Palo Verdes are putting on extra growth. Add all the winds we've been having, and we have a messy combination! Those of us who have pools are all too familiar with the extra work the tree debris can cause, and it's common for residents to contact the Association's office asking for trees to be trimmed to reduce debris in their yard.

 

Unfortunately, our community's trimming budget to trim trees outside of the regular trimming cycle is limited and does not include the cost to trim trees because debris is blowing into a yard. Owners have the right to trim tree branches on their side of the wall, so long as the work is performed from your lot and the tree debris is disposed of in your trash.

 

The Association's annual tree trimming budget does cover the cost to trim about one-third of the trees in the maintained common areas each year. Maintained common areas generally include community entrances, parks, pools, and other spaces that are roughly 20 feet from the streets. Trees outside of these areas, such as in the "washes" behind homes, are not included in this scope. Rather, they are only trimmed on an as-needed basis, such as when a tree poses a threat to your property (such as wall damage) if it is grossly overgrown or heavy with dead branches.

 

Looking for more? Check out our Tree Trimming Policies.