LOVE’s Top Five Stories of 2023

What a year it was
We've scoured our hundred or so postings this year and selected our top five.

1. St. Patrick’s Day Tragedy
There's no doubt that this is the top story of the year. Olivia Villalobos was killed, and her sister was severely injured when struck by a car on St. Patrick's Day at the Naranja Park entrance. They were just trying to get home from the park when they were struck by the car driven by Sabrina Garcia. The case against the driver, Sabrina Garcia, is being prosecuted by the City of Tucson, and we anticipate resolution in 2024. The town had planned to make immediate significant improvements to pedestrian safety in the area, but that has been put on hold because of an $89.6 million lawsuit due to the accident. What happens regarding the settlement of the suit will be a big story in 2024.

2. Residents rail against OVCN proposed sports complex

At the beginning of the year, the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene (OVCN) continued to press for rezoning for a huge sports complex on residential land it had purchased some years ago that is adjacent to the church on Concordia. Residents have fought hard against it. The proposal was heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission in February. It was supposed to be heard by the council after that, but that hearing was postponed. Nothing has happened since then. One might think that the proposal is dormant at this point, but we don't think so. Things like this never go away, so the residents are going to have to continue to be vigilant.

3. Marketplace approved to start with zero town funding

The Town Council "stood tall" when it rejected investing about $10 million in infrastructure to support the recreation area proposed by Town West as part of its planned revitalization of the Oro Valley Marketplace. It will be called the Oro Valley Village Center.  Instead, Town West requested, and the council approved changes to the recreation area so that the revitalization could start. 

4. Record town budget of $148 million

In June, the Town Council passed an historic budget of $148 million, driven up by the imperative to use remaining $25 million from the Naranja Park Bond and the use of $15 million in ARPA funding. Anticipating reduced funds in the future, we foresee subsequent budgets being significantly lower. A major question for 2025 will revolve around how the Town manages its budget amidst the substantial increase in infrastructure costs, coupled with the apparent decline in future construction, thereby restricting potential construction tax revenue.

5. Wilkins era begins

In April, the Town appointed Jeff Wilkins as Town Manager. His hiring was the result of a nationwide search in which the community participated. Wilkins joined the town in July. We don't know Wilkins. From afar, his style strikes us as someone who is focussed on managing the business of Oro Valley as opposed to striving to change our community.

They were many other stories from which to select

• The “Umbrella Lady”, Lydia Reis, was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Ina Road. 
• The Arizona Heroes Memorial in Naranja Park broke ground. 
• The Town of Oro Valley earned the 2023 Water Waster Award. 
• Henry Zipf, great grandson of the Pusch Family and avid LOVE reader died. 
• The town enacted and implemented a short-term rental ordinance. 
• Long-time Parks and Recreation Director Kristy Diaz-Trahan resigned in July, just two months after we celebrated her 10th anniversary with the Town. 
• Sinking houses on Moore Loop Road. 
• The town council asked for a report on golf operations. The report will include an independent audit of reported operating and financial results. 
• Staff kicked off a three year process to create the 2026 general plan. They're calling it Oro Valley's Path Forward.

We look for more exciting stuff next year.

In the meantime, it's time to kick back and relax.

We'll see you January 2 to help launch Tim Tarris’ historic flight around the globe.

Enjoy the holidays.

- - -

Town of Oro Valley Faces Three Lawsuits In St. Patrick's Day Tragedy (Part 2)

An independent engineer's report sees inherent danger to pedestrians and bicyclists in the vicinity of the W Naranja Drive park entrance

There is a report* that was filed with the lawsuits, authored by an independent professional engineer. The report asserts that roadway design of W Naranja Drive is inherently dangerous for pedestrians.  The engineer concluded that, "The road design ignored the needs of pedestrians at the intersection with the park entrance," especially those of children.  The report makes three main assertions

Assertion 1: Pedestrians must wait too long to cross the road safely
“During the noon hour of pedestrian would have to wait slightly longer than two minutes for an 18 second gap in traffic across Naranja Drive, " according to the report.  The report suggests that this timing gap is needed for pedestrians to safely cross a road in which cars are traveling at least 45mph. This waiting time is quite lengthy, especially considering that people, and especially children, are generally not patient enough to wait for two minutes to cross any road."

Assertion 2: The shared turn bicycle lane does not permit safe pedestrian travel

The road design is such that there is a shared turn-bicycle lane on the north side of the street. It is unsafe for pedestrians to use it, even though that would have been the only way to face oncoming traffic, as required by law.

Assertion 3: The Bicycle lane in which girls walked is too narrow to meet County standard

"The bicycle lane [in which the girls were forced to navigate] is only 5 feet wide. The Pima County Roadway Design Manual specifies a bicycle lane width of 6 feet." According to the report, those using this lane face "...a serious risk."

Report conclusion: Pedestrians obeyed the law, but the road design did not meet standards

“In my opinion, the three pedestrians were complying with Arizona law and acting prudently when hit by the vehicle. To walk facing traffic they would have had to cross Naranja Dr at Guava Dr. and walk eastbound in the westbound shared right turn lane and bike lane. This would be feasible in a bike lane but not a shared right turn lane bike lane. The intersection of Guava Dr and Naranja Dr is uncontrolled for Naranja Drive traffic and the vehicles travel at a high speed. It would have been difficult to cross the uncontrolled high speed intersection. They would have to wait more than two minutes for an 18 second gap in traffic. A recent study indicated pedestrians at uncontrolled intersections under estimate the speed of approaching traffic 70% of the time. It was not practicable for the three young women to walk facing traffic.

The road design ignored the needs of pedestrians at the intersection with the park entrance. Children walking to and from the park should be considered in the intersection design. There was no safe way to exit Guava Dr and walk eastbound on Naranja Drive. Additionally, several references indicate it is dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel in an unbuffered or unseparated bicycle lane on a high speed road."

- - -

The Council met in Executive Session to discuss the lawsuits on October 4.  Executive Sessions are not open to the public. We suspect it will take some time for these suits to be resolved. We will inform you as we learn more. 

- - -

*The information for this article comes from a preliminary report of Louis Rubenstein PE, F.ITE dated September 8, 2023. The plaintiffs in this case submitted this report in support of their assertions of liability. LOVE has not confirmed nor do we intend to confirm any of the representations made in this report.

Town of Oro Valley Faces Three Lawsuits In St. Patrick's Day Tragedy (Part 1)

This is serious business. $89.4 million in damages sought

The Town of Oro Valley has been served with three lawsuits. These relate to the tragic traffic accident that occurred at the intersection of Naranja Park and Naranja Drive on St. Patrick’s Day of this year. It was horrific. 

Olivia Villabos and her sister Avry were struck by a vehicle driven by Sabrina Garcia. The vehicle had exited Naranja Park at about 1pm and was headed eastbound. Olivia and Avry were struck as they walked with their back against traffic trying to get to their street. They were as far over on the road as you could possibly get and well off of the driving area. You can read LOVE’s reports on this.

Though no one in the town was driving the vehicle that struck Olivia and her half sister, the town is being sued on a different basis. It is being sued on the basis that plaintiffs believe that the town should have known that an accident like this was simply “waiting to happen.“

We based this conclusion on our reading on the filings of the three lawsuits and the documents that were submitted with those filings. Documents filed with the suit claim that prior to the accident town staff was aware of the danger to pedestrians in the area of the Naranja Park entrance. The Town did nothing about this. 

Claim: Town negligent in its duty to provide safe passage for pedestrians as required by Arizona Law.
“Olivia, Avry and Emily, and the two dogs and strollers were traveling eastbound on Naranja Drive. Because there was no other available space for these minors to walk, they were on the only side of the road where they could walk. This design by Oro Valley and its agents/engineers is contrary Arizona law. Arizona law requires that pedestrians walk against traffic. It is not possible in the street design. The Town of Oro Valley did not take the proper steps to comply with its duty to keep its roadways reasonably safe for pedestrians. Had the Town of Oro Valley done so, the tragic event of March 17, 2023 would never have happened”. (Source: Adrian Claim Page 3).

The claim references Arizona statute 28-796: That pedestrians must walk lonely facing traffic if no sidewalks are provided.

Claim: Town ignored complaints of the unsafe condition of the roadway for pedestrians prior to the accident
“The lack of a shoulder was an intentional construction mistake at Musette Drive and West Naranja Drive.” the shoulder on the north side of the road disappears as the right turn lane is adjacent to the guard rail. This design defect does not allow for space for a sidewalk or even a shoulder for pedestrian use. This may seem trivial, but the mistake is fatal, because pedestrians are thereby forced to walk in the direction of traffic on the south side of the road. pedestrians can only walk on the south side of the W. Narada Dr. in this highly traffic area of the town.” (Source: Adrian Claim Page 4)

Claim: Many design defects making this a dangerous pedestrian roadway
The suit points to other defects in the design, such as a lack of crosswalks, and the lack of an ability to take safe passage when you’re walking on the south bottom of the road because of the sharp drop off into a wash. It also knows that now the town seems to recognize these defects by planning the multiuse path along Naranja Drive.

Claim: Town never acted to improve pedestrian safety as Naranja Park grew
The notice of claim recognizes the significant building that has taken place at Naranja Park. ‘However, as Narada Park grew, simple, safety measures were not put in place for Pedestrians. A traffic control crosswalk was not installed at the entry of the park. The town did not even use marked crosswalk at the entrance of this park. Traffic signals, or even yield signs change the behavior of motorists that travel in and out of the park... a crosswalk would have been a cheap fix to alert drivers that pedestrians travel through this area frequently, and that they should be given the right of way.” (Source: Adrian Claim Page 9)
- - -
Follow for more tomorrow when we report of the inherent danger for pedestrians in the area.