Best Civic Improvement

River Road Addition Between La Cholla and Thornydale

STAFF PICK: We know, we know. There are too many people and too many cars and too many cars with only one person in each. But after struggling to get around the northwest side for years on two-lane Orange Grove and gridlocked La Cholla, this is like heaven. We absolutely dare you to drive the new extension and not smile. It's well-engineered, nicely landscaped and, most importantly, it has eased the traffic crunch in the area, at least for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, the idiots who had been using the road as a late-night drag strip before it officially opened are still driving the road like maniacs. But the cops are hip to the problem and the speeding tickets have started flowing like the Rillito after a summer storm.