County's slow pace on street closure frustrates Phoenix
Tom Zoellner
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 11, 2003 12:00 AM

PHOENIX - When a Phoenix street has been fenced off too long because of a construction project, the city has a blunt but effective method for getting it back open for traffic.

A crew of street maintenance workers and a detachment of Phoenix police officers show up at the site and physically remove the fence, whether the contractor is ready or not.

But in the case of downtown's Madison Street, which has been closed to traffic for two years, the hard-nosed approach will probably not be an option.

That's because the slow party in this case is another government, Maricopa County, which is at work on the Fourth Avenue Jail Complex.

The county is promising to have the street clear and ready for opening by the end of May, but that hasn't stopped Phoenix from becoming impatient.

"It's a public street paid for by the taxpayers and it serves more people than just the county," said Jim Sparks, Phoenix's deputy director of Street Transportation.

Sparks said the city would probably not send a crew to dismantle the fence out of courtesy to another government but has repeatedly pressed for a reopening.

"We want to be a good neighbor and not pick a fight with the county," he said.

Maricopa County officials say they want to keep it closed through May 31 so an air-conditioning contractor, Northwind, can complete repairs to an underground pipe. The jail's construction contractor is obligated to patch the street before it can be reopened to traffic.

"I know the city is impatient, but I also think they understand why we would keep it closed - because it makes good fiscal sense," said Rick DeSpain, the county's energy manager.

"In order to save taxpayer money, we decided to tear the street up only once."

The original street closure permit for the jail construction has no official sunset date.

Maricopa County Court security Director Bill Duffy has suggested that both the city and the county consider closing the street permanently.

The asphalt strip behind the Madison Street Jail and the Maricopa County Courts complex would make an excellent secure perimeter in case the building had to be evacuated, he said.

When the courts had to be emptied because of a bomb threat on Sept. 14, 2001, the lack of emergency street space was apparent, he said.