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Neighbors ask Canutillo ISD to keep new school access on Upper Valley Road, citing safety and congestion
Summary
Residents near the planned new middle school told trustees the proposed entrance across from a neighborhood access point will overload a narrow local street and urged the district to use Upper Valley Road instead. Speakers presented a petition with more than 200 signatures and asked the board to record the traffic study in the public record.
Residents from multiple nearby neighborhoods urged the Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees to keep vehicle access for the planned new middle school on Upper Valley Road rather than routing it onto a narrow local street near an existing elementary school.
Jerry Lee, speaking on behalf of the Laguna Meadows Homeowners Association, said neighbors have observed heavy congestion on Upper Valley Road during morning rush hours but that a small local street adjacent to the planned site cannot safely accept institutional‑scale traffic. "We can't allow the school entrance to be directly across the street from the entrance to our neighborhood," Lee said, and submitted a petition he said contains more than 200 signatures asking the board to relocate the primary access.
Laura Strathman, representing the neighborhood association, said the local road is a two‑lane dead‑end and is officially classified by city and county planners as a local access street intended to serve adjacent homes only. She and other speakers told trustees that the official architectural site plan for the new school shows ingress and egress from Upper Valley Road and asked the district to honor that design.
Speakers cited safety and emergency response concerns, noting the local street currently serves José Donlin Elementary School and has a single entry and exit. "Introducing institutional‑scale traffic on the local road will create serious safety risk for residents, schoolchildren and, if needed, emergency responders," one representative told the board.
Trustees did not make a decision during the meeting. Residents asked that the board record the latest Upper Valley Road traffic study in the next meeting’s materials and to publicize any changes to planned access or traffic mitigation measures.
