Major improvement coming to South Mountain trailheads

AHWATUKEE, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Over the next two years, three trailheads at South Mountain are going see major improvements.

At the Desert Foothills Parkway, $650,000 will be spent on this trailhead alone, with park benches and vegetation all being added. Along with a new bathroom that'll replace the always popular Porta-Potties.

"Porta-Potties are not meant for human habitation, I don't think," Mike Makay said. "They're pretty cramped and they can get pretty beat up. They try to maintain them the best they can, but nature of the beast."

They'll also add two new ramadas for some extra relief from the heat.

"The summers are hot out here with only one bit of shade and some trees," Jim Gosnell said. "You know, everybody's gathering around, so a little more shade would be a good idea. Those are some good ideas."

Not far away at the Pima trail head, it'll cost about $2.2 million to make most of the same improvements in 2017, but here, they'll be patching up the parking lots that have been pretty beat up.

The Beverly trail head will be spruced up starting in 2018 with a $500,000 price tag, which leaves hiker Alexa Ross with a bit of sticker shock.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to have a bathroom, but we all know bathrooms at the park are just bathrooms at the park, so I think they can spend their money a lot better," she said.

The city says all of the funding has been tax-payer approved.

Similar changes will be made to the trail head at 19th Avenue, but when that will start is still up in the air.