Three months ago, your humble columnist had the misfortune of reporting the nearly unthinkable: Due to the fallout from a bitter fight over traffic bollards in Tucson’s Winterhaven neighborhood, some residents were contemplating a holiday light strike, in which their homes would be conspicuously dark while the rest of the neighborhood pulsed with its famous blinding Christmas lights.
The Road Runner can now happily report that a good old-fashioned neighborhood election, which roughly coincided with the far more divisive presidential election, has calmed tensions and given the neighborhood a path back to harmony.
“I think it will be fine,” said James Kaucher, a resident and attorney for the Winterhaven board.
“There is a sense that people are putting out their lights, getting their houses together for lights,” said Jill Hawkins, a critic of the bollards and member of a safety committee tasked with resolving the controversy. “The sort of tension does seem to have gone away.”
Before we go into the results of the election, let’s recap the controversy: In October 2015, many residents were surprised to learn that traffic bollards had gone up on East Kleindale Road at its intersection with North Christmas Avenue.
That $3,000 modification came after enough nearby residents signed a petition requesting a change, which was intended to address speeding motorists on Kleindale. However, some original signers said they had been deceived about what they had signed, and subsequently signed a counter-petition to have the bollards removed.
After months of bitter back and forth, the safety committee polled residents and came up with a handful of proposals that would eventually be put to all residents.
Those proposals were as follows:
- Remove the bollards and generally return the intersection to its original state with some additional signage and other minor modifications.
- Turn the intersection into a roundabout.
- Turn the blocked off section into a park.
With a razor-thin three-vote margin, the first option cleared the 90-vote majority threshold and avoided a runoff, according to a copy of the Nov. 14 results. The roundabout got 19 votes, and the third option got 56.
There are a few remaining steps, including clearing plans with the Tucson Department of Transportation, but the bollards are certainly coming down.
Hawkins described the results as “delightful.”
Though Kaucher previously said the bollards were a way to address speeding along Kleindale and other safety issues, and that taking them down could present legal problems for Winterhaven, he said that with the vote “the neighborhood has spoken.”
“If people still have issues, I’m sorry,” he said.
Perhaps more important than the vote or the bollards are the lessons to be drawn from the episode, which saw shouting matches at meetings, 911 calls and threats of leaving Winterhaven.
The work of the committee and the effort to develop proposals based on neighborhood input showed the importance of people with “different viewpoints” coming together, Kaucher said.
“It’s a really good lesson of what happens when people don’t talk to each other and make assumptions,” he added of the controversy. “When people talk to each other, it really does help clear the air.”
Kaucher and Hawkins agreed that Winterhaven, with its decades-long history and strong neighborhood identity, might require a little more care than other neighborhoods when making changes. Per city rules, neighborhood-led road-safety improvements need to be signed off on by 60 percent of nearby residents. However, the strong reaction to the bollards suggest that wider involvement may have been appropriate.
“Everyone has an interest in that part of the neighborhood,” Kaucher said.
“Anything like that that radically affects Winterhaven should have to be put before all of Winterhaven,” Hawkins echoed.
“Not just something like this where a small group of people can upend Winterhaven as a beautiful neighborhood.”
The neighborhood’s holiday lights officially turn on Dec. 10.
DOWN THE ROAD
Overnight bridge work at Interstate 10’s Craycroft Road crossing will shut both left lanes starting Tuesday evening.
Between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, crews will build shoring for a temporary construction bridge. The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers to slow down and exercise caution.
