A few months ago during a City Council meeting, which was broadcast on the local government channel, John Castillo, Director of the Department of Municipal Development for the city, when asked by Councilor Cadigan when the Paseo extension would be finished, replied that the project would be completed by the end of June. Councilor Cadigan then asked if he meant the project would be completed all the way from Golf Course to Universe by the end of June or just halfway from Golf Course to Kimmick. Mr. Castillo replied that it would be finished through to Universe by the end of June.

When I heard this I was skeptical to say the least. So since the end of June deadline is approaching quickly I decided to find out exactly how far along the Paseo extension project was. This past Sunday, May 28, Memorial Day I set out to see for myself how much was done.

A little history for those who aren’t familiar with the details. Originally the city was going to extend Paseo Del Norte 2 lanes in both directions from the intersection with Golf Course up the hill about 1.3 miles and end at about Kimmick (which does not actually exist as anything more than a dirt trail at this point). After that from Kimmick to Universe was going to be the job of developers in the area. This of course would rely on the developers to do their part in a timely manner for us Ventana Ranch and VR West residents to be able to use the Paseo extension.

At some point during the last year and a half of work on this project the city decided to extend their work from Kimmick all the way to Universe, but they would only do two lanes (one in each direction) from Kimmick to Universe, and it would be the job of the developers along the roadway to finish with more lanes in each direction in the future. This will at least allow us Ventana Ranch and VR West residents to use the extension to reach our homes. However I think having one lane in each direction from Kimmick to Universe it going to present another traffic nightmare in the area. But hey beggars can’t be choosers right?

Here is an overview map with a very rough drawing of the alignment of the Paseo Del Norte extension.

Click to see a larger view.

Starting from the left side of the overview at Universe, the gray lines indicate where there is curb. The gray in the center indicates where there is a curb along the inside of the road, and of course the gray line along the edges of the road indicate where there is curb on the outside edges of the road. This whole section is only ONE lane wide in each direction.

The little arrows with numbers along the route indicate the picture number and direction the photo was taken in the pictures to follow.

The part of the road in the middle of the overview that is just black is where there is just pavement and there are currently no curbs. And at the right side of the overview where Paseo meets Golf Course where the lines are purple is where there are full curbs in the center and at the edges and the lanes are fully 2 lanes wide in each direction. This is the part that was in the original city project.

You can click on all of these pictures to see a larger version of it.

Starting out at the intersection of Universe and Paseo I took this picture facing east.

Image 1

About 300 feet from the intersection pavement starts and an inner and outer curb begins. This picture is again taken facing east, and you can see the edge of the public storage wall on the left side of the photo.

Image 2

About another 500-1000 feet further the road begins to curve to the south and the outer curbs disappear and there is only a inner curb and pavement one lane wide in each direction. This picture is taken about 500-1000 feet from the curve facing southeast.

Image 3

About another 1500 feet further the curbs disappear completely, inner and outer, for about 200-300 feet maybe. This section looks like where the future Unser Blvd. will intersect Paseo. This picture is taken from that point once again facing southeast.

Image 4

Outer curbs appear again briefly on either side and then disappear leaving only the inner curb and pavement only one lane wide in each direction.

About another 2000 feet ahead the road curves again in the direction of due east. This picture is taken facing southeast showing the curve to the east.

Image 5

After the curve the inner curb disappears completely and all that is left is pavement 2 lanes wide (one lane in each direction).

I took this picture facing east-southeast.

Image 6

About another 1000 feet or so I took this picture facing east again.

Image 7

About another 1000 feet down the road the land bridge over Paseo becomes visible, the road begins to slope down the mesa, the road expands to two lanes in each direction and curbs on the inside and outside start. This picture is taken facing east with the land bridge in the distance.

Image 8

This picture was taken just after passing underneath the land bridge facing east. Here you can now see the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and McDonald’s on the left and the Smith’s on the right. In the far distance you can see Golf Course Rd. In the foreground is the bridge over the arroyo.

Image 9

Then near the intersection of Paseo Del Norte and Golf Course I turned around and took a picture facing west. In this picture you can see the land bridge again but from the other side.

Image 10

A few things to mention.

The entire distance of the extension is about 2.5 miles long from Universe to Golf Course.

All along the way the pavement is only one layer thick. Usually I think there are at least two layers of pavement put down. So while the entire length of the Paseo extension is paved, with the exception of the last 200-300 feet to Universe, another layer still needs to be put down along the entire length of the extension.

Now something I was surprised about is those few sections where there are outer curbs but the pavement is only one lane wide. Usually when a road is put in and it is known that in the future the road will be expanded in width the outer curbs are not put in, or a temporary curb made out of the same material the pavement is made out of is added to the edge of the roadway. These outer curbs though are what looks like permanent concrete curbs. What this means I am not sure. Does this mean that it will be more expensive for the developers to expand the road in the future? I don’t think so. Does this mean that this section of the road is only ever meant to be one lane wide in each direction? I doubt that too. I am not sure what to make of it.

I think making the road so narrow and having those outer curbs along some of the way will probably slow traffic down even more as people tend to slow down along narrower roads.

Hopefully soon enough we will see the road open, and we will see how traffic is. Of course any new east west route here on the Northwest side is definitely good news.

-Jay Jones
VRNA Board Member
VRNAWeb.org Webmaster

A Master Planned Community with parks, trails, community center and a commercial center that includes a grocery store. That is what we all bought into. Our developer built the parks, trails and community center. But how do we get our planed grocery store?

The answer is getting more difficult as time goes by. The original location was in Ventana Square, next to Walgreen’s, and was deemed unfit by the industry. The VRNA worked with the Ventana Square representatives in its design revamp into a neighborhood scale service center. The prime location in VR for a grocery store is the northeast corner of Paseo Del Norte and Universe. Grocers want high visibility.

So what’s keeping us from getting a store now? Part of it has to do with the industry as a whole, which is not doing well. But the two major obstacles are the completion of Paseo Del Norte and the Volcano Heights plan. Paseo will give better access to Smith’s and The Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery. The Volcano Heights plan has several commercial centers, including one at the future Paseo and Unser intersection.

A recent third obstacle is City Councilor Debbie O’Malley’s proposed bill for a proposed moratorium on commercial permits over 100,000 square feet. The intent of the bill is to aid North Valley neighborhoods in their fight over the proposed Wal-Mart. The unintended consequence would be no future grocery stores for other neighborhoods. Albertson’s currently builds their stores in the range of 165,000 square feet. O’Malley’s bill would move buildings over 150,000 square feet to C-3. VR is zoned C-2. We would be bleep out of luck.

So, what are we doing about getting a grocery store? Well, we are fighting O’Malley’s bill as it stands now. I also spent last Monday lobbying at the NAIOP* luncheon on commercial development and letting folks know how supportive VR is for commercial development and that we desperately need a grocery store. If we are going to get a grocer’s commitment, it’s in our favor to get one now. I will be following up with leads this week. So let’s hope we get a good roll of the dice soon.

* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties

Welcome to our new Ventana Ranch Blog. VRNA Board members and staff will be posting stories and opinions concerning life in VR.