[chumley]

Maricopa County just approved a plan to develop a new regional park near Wickenburg in the Vulture Mountains and along the Hassayampa River. The 110-square mile park will be home to hiking trails (including the Maricopa Regional Trail), camp grounds, and OHV trails.

You can read a good overview of the projet on on AZCentral: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... -area.html

Or you can read the whole proposal from the Maricopa County Parks and Rec site: http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/vulturemtn.aspx
which contains the file I'm attaching here.

Page 64-67 of the proposal scares me. There's gonna be two new freeways and six parkways that all come together in Wickenburg?!! The drive to Vegas might be nicer once the Ash Fork segment looks like the Loop 202, but pumpkin!

[big_load]

There's gonna be two new freeways and six parkways that all come together in Wickenburg?!!

That seems like an awful lot. Getting there might be less irksome than negotiating the endless string of stop lights on 60.

[Rob del Desierto]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[joe bartels]

When I moved to the valley I-17 had palm trees and oleanders down the middle as the barrier. There was no 51, 143, 101, 202, 303, etc. The question doesn't seem to be "if" on expanding. There seems to be several new "Regional" parks in just the last decade too.

[The Hippy]

@joe bartels I remember when there was only the I-17 also! And I lived at 35th ave & Beardsley! (which now runs along the 101!) and I remember riding my bikes all over and then one day there were signs and construction sites saying I couldn't ride there and then...the 101...
i thought that was bad! now we have the nearly USELESS 303!!!!
And they're going to build more?! out in Wickenburg?! that's depressing...it really is.

a new park out at Vulture would be nice though, i work for the county and I'd totally be willing to work out there!!

[Patrick L]

now we have the nearly USELESS 303!!!!

They're working on a good-sized interchange where the 303 meets I-10 right now. I think it'll be seeing a lot more traffic in the coming years. Just a matter of time until the open desert over here becomes a giant neighborhood.

[The Hippy]

so depressing! i hope we can save some of our land! or at leasy knock of the crappy cookie cutter houses and make more "horse property" land/homes so our neighbors are half a mile away instead of 4 feet outside our side window!!

keep eyes peeled for more news on this vulture park, i'm gonna poke my nose into parks & recs see if i can get any more info!