To the Editor,
Over the past several months, multiple children in Maricopa have been struck by cars while walking, riding scooters or biking in their own neighborhoods. These incidents are not “accidents.” They are the predictable result of a city that has grown rapidly without building the basic safety infrastructure families rely on.
Maricopa has a lighting problem. Entire neighborhoods, school routes and major corridors remain unlit. Children are walking in the dark while drivers navigate roads with no visibility, no traffic calming and no margin for error. When a city chooses not to install lighting, it is choosing to make pedestrians invisible.
We cannot continue pretending this is an unavoidable tragedy. It is a policy failure.
Other cities have already solved this. They adopt a Streetlight Master Plan, map dark zones, prioritize school routes and install lighting in phases using a mix of grants, transportation impact fees and capital improvement funds. Maricopa has access to the same tools — it simply has not used them.
Instead, the city recently approved a new ordinance allowing bicycles, electric bikes and scooters on sidewalks. This was presented as a safety measure, but it does not address the reasons children are being hit by cars. Sidewalks were designed for pedestrians — toddlers, strollers, families walking to school — not for high‑speed electric vehicles. Shifting fast‑moving wheels onto narrow sidewalks does not make streets safer. It simply moves the risk from the roadway to the very space children are supposed to be protected.
Lighting is only one part of the solution. Our roads are wide, fast and designed for speed, not safety. Neighborhoods need raised crosswalks, speed humps, pedestrian beacons and lane‑narrowing features that force drivers to slow down. These are standard traffic‑calming measures used nationwide. They are not experimental. They are not controversial. They save lives.
We also need a renewed commitment to enforcing distracted driving. Phones are everywhere, and without visible enforcement, dangerous habits become normalized. A city that invests in growth must also invest in the safety personnel required to protect that growth.
Maricopa’s children should not have to risk their lives to walk to school, visit a friend or ride a bike around the block. Parents should not have to rely on reflective backpacks and hope because the city has not provided lighting, safe crossings or traffic control.
This is not a funding issue. It is a priority issue.
If Maricopa can consider multimillion‑dollar projects, it can certainly afford streetlights and safe crossings. If we can build new subdivisions at record speed, we can require developers to include lighting and pedestrian safety from day one. If we can plan for growth, we can plan for the safety of the people who live here now.
Children being hit by cars is not an acceptable status quo. It is a call to action.
Maricopa must adopt a streetlight plan, implement traffic‑calming measures, enforce distracted‑driving laws and update development codes so this never becomes a recurring headline again. Our kids deserve a city that protects them — not one that leaves them in the dark.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Oehlerking, Santa Rosa Springs
![Western Pinal Justice of the Peace Patricia Glover speaks during a City of Maricopa Republican Club on May 23, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260529-spencer-teeple-republican-club-1-4-300x200.jpg)
12 Responses
Long as streetlights still aren’t spammed everywhere, then it’d be fine. It’s good that Maricopa has kept streetlights more limited since it lessens light pollution.
Also, who exactly is walking to school in the dark other than highschoolers during Winter? Serious question.
*mic drop*
Well said!
Public safety leadership within the City of Maricopa needs closer scrutiny given ongoing pedestrian safety concerns and repeated incidents. This is unacceptable, and the recurrence of these failures is telling. People are losing faith in public safety leadership, and accountability must follow. I call on the City Manager to take action.
The city clearly has budget for putting up all those creepy dick-lookin’ Big Brother black poles all over town, why not more streetlights?
Hey Elias, what are those things anyway? 5G Deep State Vaccine Towers? 😵💫😜
While i can agree that what the city has proposed is somewhat lacking, i think there is much more to the problem. When are the parents going to take some responsibility. Kids ridding E-bikes and scooters without head gear, weaving in and out of traffic or on the wrong side of the road. Riding in the dark with all black clothing and no lights on their bikes or scooters. All these things contribute to the rash of accidents, not just distracted or speeding drivers which we all admit is a serious problem in this town
my ? is is there a speed limit on bikes, scooters in bike lane and on sidewalk?
Nope. Lighting isn’t the issue. Distracted drivers is the issue. Drivers exceeding the speed limit often by 20-30MPH is the issue. Drivers rolling through Stop Signs is the issue. Lights will not stop careless drivers
I disagree. Policy can’t fix stupid drivers or inattentive pedestrians/bike/scooter riders. Just my opinion.
Yep let’s spend millions and tear up everything to solve a problem that the uncontrolled growth brought on.This was a quiet,safe affordable city until the all the politicians voted in became turncoats on the promises made to the citizens.I and many others moved here to retire in a peaceful city,not anymore.The lack of proper driving on city streets is absent.The city streets are an extension of the 347.Still amped up traveling in or heading to work.How about the students not wear black on black on black in the dark?How about buying a light of some sort to show that you are a pedestrian?The taxpayer is always on the hook for spending millions for bad behavior and habits.And why aren’t they taking the bus?And how about all the MBA,BA smart school board members chiming in with ideas?They’re flush with cash to solve the problem.I’m tired of paying for others children and families lack of teaching safety.I’ve been paying school taxes for 52 years!gear up your kids for the dark hour.I do when I walk or ride my bike very early in the morning.Parenting and responsibility is all the time for parents,not just when they’re home.Its a tough and unforgiving world.Learn to take care of yourself.
YES!
I have to agree, this is surely a policy problem. We are still pretending we can get to keep the small-town charm, with plenty of stargazing; but the reality is that the city is getting crowded, and there are many, many more moving parts than the city is prepared for.
It’s not the government’s responsibility to ensure your children are safe. It’s the parent / guardian’s responsibility to ensure their children are operating, in many cases, their “motorized vehicles” in a safe manner. Rules of the road apply to all motorized vehicles and bicycles. If your child is not responsible enough to avoid being hit by a car keep them home, or perhaps don’t give them a motorcycle disguised as a toy.