PIMA — The Town of Pima took up the issue of two roads at its regular meeting Tuesday.
The council voted unanimously to re-open West 600 South, after property owner Dusty Luster placed a gate across the roadway, claiming he owns the road.
The issue first came up in August and the council tabled the issue in order to go out and view the situation in person. At a follow-up special meeting Aug. 11, Luster said the fencing was in place due to excessive speed by vehicles on the roadway. The gate is unlocked and motorists can travel through after they exit the vehicle to open the gate.
Numerous neighboring property owners said the gate has created travel difficulties getting to their homes, as well as preventing parcel deliveries.
Town Manager Vernon Batty said the town has taken steps to address the issue, even before the council’s vote.
“Mr. Luster has been cited and he is currently fighting that,” Batty said. “At this point, it’s a Class-2 misdemeanor, and after three Class-2 misdemeanors it’s a felony, so I think don’t think he’s going to want this going forward. But he is fighting it at this point, and legally that’s where we’re at.”
Batty said the citation also puts the onus on Luster to provide documentation showing ownership of the land and proof it wasn’t dedicated to the town by a previous owner to be used as a public roadway.
The other road issue is West 700 South, which is seeing increased traffic from the gate on West 600 South. Residents in the area talked of vehicles excessively speeding down the roadway and on-street parking creating a hazard, due to the narrowness of the roadway.
Speed bumps were proposed by the town, but residents expressed opposition to that idea. Instead, the council directed Batty to install 25 mph speed limit and no parking signs along the street, and the Police Department to enforce those regulations.
