Recent pedestrian and bicycle crashes show why Maricopa needs practical safety steps, including lower speed limits, targeted enforcement, education, and shared responsibility from drivers, residents, and the City.
Originally published as a letter to the editor on March 3, 2026.
To the Editor,
In just a few short weeks, our community has seen numerous pedestrian and bicycle versus vehicle incidents, including one fatality. That is not a statistic we should accept. It’s a public safety issue and requires action.
Many of these incidents have happened near Walmart and the Glennwilde area, where there is a high concentration of multi-family housing, schools, and families walking or biking. This is exactly the kind of area where safety has to be built into how we manage traffic, speed, and crossings.
What makes this even more frustrating is that when some of these projects and zoning cases came before Planning and Zoning and City Council, residents repeatedly raised concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety. Those concerns were valid then, and today they feel ignored.
I appreciate that Maricopa Police Chief Mark Goodman will be presenting information on bicycle and pedestrian concerns. But awareness is only step one. We also need common-sense changes that the City can implement now.
The City should lower the speed limit in the areas where incidents are clustering. Will that stop speeding entirely? No. But it will cause some drivers to slow down, and even small reductions in speed can reduce crash severity. We also need increased, targeted enforcement during peak school hours, especially around drop-off and pick-up times.
Education matters too, and it should start with our youth. Kids and teens need clear reminders about visibility and protection: wearing helmets, using bike lights and reflectors, and choosing light-colored clothing, especially at dusk and at night. Parents can help by making this part of the routine rather than an afterthought.
Drivers also need a reminder: distraction takes many forms. Phones, stress, rushing, and plain inattention. But the result is the same when a driver isn’t paying attention, and someone in a crosswalk or on a bike pays the price.
This has to be a shared effort. Residents need to stay alert and model safe behavior. And the City needs to do what it can within its control, starting with speed limits and enforcement.
We should not wait for another fatality before taking this seriously.
Sincerely,
Tena Dugan
Maricopa, AZ
Tena Dugan
Tena Dugan is a lifelong Arizonan and proud Maricopa resident since 2013. A licensed REALTOR® with West USA Realty, seven-year HOA Board President, and community advocate with over two decades of civic involvement, Tena knows what it takes to show up and get things done. She has served on the City of Maricopa Parks, Recreation and Library Board, the Citizen Transportation Tax Oversight Committee, and the Pinal County Transportation Board. As a wife, mother of four Maricopa High School graduates, and grandmother, she is deeply invested in the future of this community. Tena is running for Maricopa City Council because she believes every resident deserves a seat at the table — and your vote is your voice.
