Police wrote more traffic citations and warnings by October than in all of 2025, figures for a town committee show

Queen Creek police issued 12,602 traffic citations and warnings from January through October, already about 2,400 more than the department recorded in all of 2025, according to figures in the packet for the town's Transportation Advisory Committee.

Assistant Chief Noah Johnson is scheduled to walk the committee through the department's traffic enforcement and outreach work when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in the San Tan Conference Room of the Municipal Services Building, 22358 S. Ellsworth Road.

Enforcement has more than doubled since 2022

The police slides show the yearly count of citations and warnings climbing every year since the department's records begin in mid-January 2022:

• 2022: 5,072
• 2023: 5,898
• 2024: 9,257
• 2025: 10,219
• 2026, through Oct. 31: 12,602

Most of this year's growth is in warnings. Officers have handed out 7,381 of them so far in 2026, compared with 5,161 for the whole of last year. Civil traffic tickets, at 4,793, have edged past the 2025 total of 4,673, and criminal traffic citations stand at 428, up from 385.

Crashes running close to last year's pace

The department logged 1,384 crashes in the first 10 months of 2026, about 85% of the 1,623 it counted in 2025, which was the highest of the five years shown. This year's total includes 952 crashes without injuries, 237 with injuries, 192 hit-and-runs and three that were fatal. Fatal crashes numbered six in 2022, nine in 2023, two in 2024 and four in 2025.

The presentation also lists the four spots where police have run high-visibility enforcement details: Ellsworth and Riggs roads, Ocotillo and Rittenhouse roads, Gantzel and Combs roads, and Ellsworth Loop Road. Officers made 404 stops in the first round of those details and 308 in the second, according to the slides.

Turnout has been light for the department's e-bike and motorized device safety class, which drew four or five people per session this year. The remaining 2026 sessions are set for Nov. 19 and Dec. 17.

Trails and development also on the agenda

Parks and Recreation Director Adam Robinson is set to present counts from the town's wash trails. The Queen Creek Wash trail recorded 156,687 trips over the counting period, an average of 538 a day, with a single-day high of 1,156 on April 4. The Sonoqui Wash trail logged 54,450, or about 177 a day. The slides do not state the dates the counters covered.

The committee will also elect a chair and vice chair, set its 2027 meeting dates and hear an update on private development from the Development Services Department. The police and trail items are listed for presentation and discussion only.

Sources

queencreekaz.granicus.com

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