Globe Miami Times Connecting you to the Pulse of Globe Miami
“Hey, why is access to the start of the Stairizona Trail blocked?”
Just when the Stairizona Trail was getting great press from the Arizona Republic, Arizona Highways, and the Arizona Department of Tourism, the access to the trailhead was blocked by fencing with no warning. This has been frustrating for visitors coming to Globe to walk the trail and for locals who are increasingly discovering the treasures tucked along this urban trail.
While most of the trail is still open, the first staircase is blocked necessitating a detour. To make sense of the detour, please know this temporary change is necessary because of safety concerns. Here’s the scoop as I ART GLOBE understands it:
The City of Globe wants to improve North Broad Street. They purchased the Silver King building to potentially add a playground, skate park, and parking lot to this location. The Dylan Earvin Foundation stepped up as a partner in support of the playground and donated funds for this project. However, when it came time to tear the Silver King building down to open up the space, the city discovered a sticky problem: it shares a wall with an active business, Earth Mover Tires. To avoid impacting this business, the city has been getting engineering studies and looking for grants for what’s become a more complicated procedure than originally planned.
While waiting on these details, the plot thickened when the roof of the Silver King building collapsed, causing the outer wall (where the brightly colored Instagram murals are now) to start to bow outward. The stability of this wall is the first safety concern. The second concern is that asbestos in the ceiling was revealed following the collapse, requiring additional mitigation. Third, heavy equipment will be necessary to rectify the situation and the entryway to this property from Broad Street is narrow, making pedestrian access difficult.
While the ultimate plan is to tear down the Silver King building and reopen the Stairizona trailhead, the date for this to occur is unknown, though city staff have stated it is an active project and a priority.
In the meantime, if you want to walk the Stairizona Trail and enjoy as many art installations as possible, consider using the map for an alternative starting route while the trailhead is closed [the black is the closed section at the trailhead]. You’ll only miss one staircase with this detour, but you’ll get a bonus staircase on Yuma Street, as well as a chance to see our new Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial on High Street. Word to the wise: once you conquer the steepness of Yuma Street, the rest of the short and medium trail are much easier. Hold on to hope!
If you need a full Stairizona Trail map, scan the QR code or go to the Globe Miami Times’ website to obtain access to both a map and a page describing the art installations identified by numbers on the map. Keep your eyes open: when the map was made, we had 39 finished art projects and now we have 72!
The Stairizona Trail is a project of I Art Globe, a volunteer-led public art initiative focused on bringing hope back to Globe during the pandemic. I Art Globe is a program of Love Where You Live, a local nonprofit working to transform livable spaces into lovable places.
Thea Wilshire works as an author, psychologist, speaker, healthcare consultant, and AirBnB host. Her passions include community development, the creation of public spaces, trying new adventures, and sharing her therapy dog with schools and medical facilities. Find her blog at https://www.acornconsulting.org/blog.
