BY DON SORCHYCH | APRIL 4, 2012
Bike week road closure
How was Bike Week for you? If you aren’t a motorcycle rider you might be furious about the closing of the south side of Cave Creek Road to benefit the Hideaway. I know many people were furious and I sure was and am. Two weekends and a week is a long time and the continuous thunder of bikes was like being inside a thunderstorm. People miles from Cave Creek Road have complained about the deafening roar.
The good weather for weeks before bike week encouraged bikers and automobiles to park wherever they saw an open space, especially on weekends, to totter off to The Hideaway.
I have a Laundromat at a shopping center along with the Cave Creek Armory gun store and Al Rad’s Acupuncture for Life. On Saturdays they constantly fight off the hordes who invade their parking lot. If they go inside to see a client, parking spaces disappear in a heart beat.
On Sundays they are both closed. I have tried to keep the vandals out but they storm in so I call tow trucks. Our shopping center has abundant signs making it clear we will tow if anyone parking there is not a customer or employee.
The policing of my parking lot should be done by the Hideaway’s owner Mark Bradshaw. He is the one who profits from the traffic, not me. The only way to control the parking is with full-time presence of someone to keep people out.
The town and MCSO argue they don’t have jurisdiction since the lot is private property. But the town can control this problem. During Monday’s council meeting, I addressed the council in “Call to the Public.” I spoke of the problems and then suggested the town examine how The Hideaway was approved as a business. The then owner of Indian Village was Ron Krasson and he wanted to lease a building which had been a lovely café operated by a French couple, to the proposed Hideaway.
Council reviewed the plan and opined there wasn’t enough parking. Krasson said they would only park motorcycles. Council said it still lacked enough spaces. Krasson said he had approval of the Horny Toad next door to accept overflow parking. That was a lie, and in the same meeting Jeff Price, owner of the Horny Toad, verified what I said was true. Price even erected a fence and established a no parking policy other than for customers and employees.
During Bike Week, Price paid someone $661 to police his parking lot. The ever-generous Bradshaw sent a check for $208 to Price.
Rico Bonucelli, the owner of Plaza de Rico where my Laundromat is located, spoke on the issue and said he chased 67 bikes and vehicles from the parking lot on Saturday, while there are only 26 parking places. He spoke to the safety issue when closely parked bikes prevent access by emergency vehicles.
Harold’s owner Bill Vale admonished Tap Haus for eliminating parking by erecting tents and causing their customers to park in his parking lot. Is it surprising Bradshaw is the general manager of that establishment?
Vale said since the precedent was established he looked forward to road closures to benefit Harold’s.
Town staff has talked about eliminating tents but has never taken the matter to council, although Mayor Vincent Francia, during the last council meeting, asked staff to give him a report on available parking in Cave Creek.
Buffalo Chip owner Larry Wendt said he thought closing the south side of the road to attract bikes was a good idea and he had his best week in history. Since when should the entire town be disadvantaged to benefit businesses? The town should restrict road closures to two parades each year, period.
Hideaway owner, Mark Bradshaw, spent his three minutes spinning tales. His first whopper was that he had talked to me the day before. It never happened. I met Bradshaw once when Jim O’Toole, the owner of the building that is now Tap Haus, brought Bradshaw in as some sort of partner, a move that startled many, and as yet is not known if prudent.
Bradshaw said several times that all any complainant had to do was to come and talk to him. Town Manager Usama Abujbarah met with Bradshaw at least four times and got promises but no results.
Ask him.
Bradshaw said I towed a couple of cars but they were not Hideaway customers. This is another big lie, I had numerous cars towed and they were Hideaway customers. Even during the week, women park there, primp, and wiggle their way to The Hideaway. The man who cleans the parking lot of trash from Hideaway parking often asks them if their husbands know where they are going.
People in Petite Acres, the mobile home park east of The Hideaway, have complained access to their trailers has been blocked numerous times. One resident said if you want to get stoned all you have to do is go outside and sniff the air wafting over from The Hideaway. Somebody needs to put a bug in the liquor board’s ear.
