A Taxpayer Watch story last month prompted a question from Southwest Side resident Diana Fierro, who is having a tough time figuring out who owns a section of dirt road on which drivers often speed.
She said she's called the county several times about the road, wondering what kinds of speed-control or speed-enforcement measures can be taken. The county tells her the road is private, Fierro said.
After several of her calls, the county installed a sign reading "Not a county maintained road," she said.
Fierro said she was also told the owners of the private road can put up a gate to keep people out, but that she never got confirmation of this.
On top of that, a representative from the Sheriff's Department told Fierro the department can't enforce speed limits on private property.
People are also reading…
After getting this assortment of answers, and reading about someone with a similar road issue, Fierro wrote to find out what she and her neighbors can do about the dirt section of West Nebraska Street.
The roadway runs from South Camino Verde to South Sheridan Avenue, but the dirt section is the middle section, from Vinca Rose Drive to South Spencer Avenue.
The options for residents in the area vary depending on whether the roadway is private or public, so a call to the county's mapping and records division steered us in the right direction.
The whole stretch of that roadway is county-owned public property, said Cecilia Perez, a county technician.
With that, the next call was to the Pima County Department of Transportation.
Though the roadway is county- owned, it is owned by the county's Transportation Department, said Carol Brichta, spokeswoman for the department.
That sounds strange, but it happens when someone deeds a private road to the county, she said.
A private owner can deed a roadway to the county, making it a public roadway; however, the Transportation Department cannot maintain it (including installation of speed limit signs) unless the property is up to county road standards and deeded to the department. That also means the road can't be closed.
In order for the roadway to be accepted as a county-maintained road, the residents in the area would have to bear the cost of bringing it up to county standards, Brichta said.
It would have to be paved with asphalt and have 60 feet of easement, she said. That type of paving requires permits, to ensure the work is done according to county standards.
Even speed limits cannot be installed without the roadway's being up to standard, as speed limits fall under "maintenance."
— Andrea Kelly
Who's responsible
Pima County Department of Transportation: 740-6410
Do you have a problem, but you're getting nowhere getting government to respond and fix it? E-mail taxpayer@ azstarnet .com with the problem, your name and a phone number where you can be reached. Or call 573-4142.
