蜜柚直播

Richard Ellwanger, a 73-year-old bicyclist, was riding uphill on the road on Oct. 11, when he was struck and killed by a wrong-way driver whom police say was impaired.

A day earlier, Ellwanger and his friend, Dean Marvin, had gathered for what would be their final ride together.

鈥淗e and I usually would sit at the front of that ride and talk science and things,鈥� Marvin said.

鈥淗e was killed the next day.鈥�

Yanibra Moreno, 20, faces charges in connection with the deadly crash. Moreno, who also hit two pedestrians on her way down the mountain before crashing into rocks, had a blood-alcohol level five times higher than the state鈥檚 legal limit, police say.

Marvin said he rarely rides up Sentinel Peak, and never does so when it鈥檚 dark.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a narrow road and nobody in their car drives the speed limit. So it鈥檚 not only a problem for cyclists, it鈥檚 a problem for people doing other kinds of exercise on that road.鈥�

Residents in the 鈥淎鈥� Mountain community have been trying to get safety improved for months. They first contacted City Councilwoman Regina Romero鈥檚 office in December 2017.

鈥淚 think the tragedy of Mr. Ellwanger鈥檚 death has given everyone more impetus to bring about some safety measures that could perhaps help prevent something like this from happening again,鈥� said Michael Chihak, who has been advocating with other neighborhood residents to see changes.

On Oct. 15, residents met with Romero and other city officials to provide input on possible safety measures for the mountain road.

鈥淢onday鈥檚 meeting was an improvement,鈥� Chihak said, as the two previous meetings with officials didn鈥檛 yield much change. The meeting was scheduled before last week鈥檚 fatal crash, he said.

City staffers told residents that improvements are forthcoming.

That includes adding more 15-mile-per-hour speed-limit signs.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to add some warning signs to let people know they鈥檙e in a park and they need to drive nice and slow,鈥� said Lane Mandle, a city spokeswoman. She added that existing speed humps will be checked to make sure all are in 鈥済ood working order.鈥�

Enforcement remains a concern.

Signs wouldn鈥檛 have stopped the crash that killed Ellwanger, says Mandle.

鈥淭hat was a terrible tragedy and I鈥檓 afraid rumble strips or some signs would not have helped that,鈥� Mandle said. 鈥淲e are in talks with 蜜柚直播 Police Department to see what we can do to bring extra enforcement to that area.鈥�

While there鈥檚 no immediate expectation for increased police presence, it will continue to be pursued be residents, Chihak said.

鈥淎ll of these things don鈥檛 guarantee that people won鈥檛 speed, but every one of them helps people to be more aware of what the speed limit is and to slow down,鈥� he said.

蜜柚直播 officials and the 鈥淎鈥� Mountain community await the road-safety assessment, which is to be completed by early November.

The assessment will provide recommendations for additional safety improvements on the road. The next community meeting is scheduled after the assessment is completed.

鈥淚 would like to see more restricted hours for motor vehicles, maybe allow them up starting at noon,鈥� Chihak said. Access is currently open to all from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Any talk about potentially banning vehicles is not on the table, for now.

鈥溾�楢鈥� Mountain is a beloved landmark not just for the residents on the west side but through the entire community,鈥� Mandle said.

鈥淲e would need to have some pretty extensive discussions with the community, some serious community engagement and outreach before we made any changes to such a popular landmark.鈥�

DOWN THE ROAD

Bridge rehabilitation work at Interstate 10 and Pinal Airpark Road starts Wednesday, Oct. 24. Motorists traveling west will need to use the Marana Road or Red Rock exit, depending on their direction of travel.

During most of the project, which is expected to last until spring 2019, I-10 will be reduced to two lanes in each direction. Ramps to and from eastbound I-10 will not be affected, the 蜜柚直播 Department of Transportation says.