newmama23

Gilbert Road in Gilbert turns North at Elliot Road. At this intersection you are entering a quaint downtown area of the city of Gilbert, with a lot of really cute restaurants and some shops You know you're in historic Gilbert when the speed limit drops to 35 and then 25 mph - and these are closely watched and enforced. The Euro Café is a great dining option/hangout - offering a selection of Mediterranean foods, excellent wines, and some of the best desserts you’ll get in the Phoenix metro area. As you would expect from the title, the place has a great café/coffeehouse vibe, and attracts a literary and worldly crowd. North of here at Baseline are an urgent care and medical facility, shopping plaza/strip mall, and various financial institutions. Past the Superstition Freeway/60, there are lots more shopping and dining options, including a Target department store, Mexican restaurants, and a variety of other small businesses. This is a good area to get a lot of errands done. There are also fast food options just off Gilbert.

North Gilbert Road in Chandler turns to South Gilbert at the Elliot Road intersection. There is an entrance/exit for the 202 Loop/SanTan Freeway on Gilbert, and much of the road south of here is all farmland. Moving north from the 202, however, the commercial properties begin with a major car dealership and some pizza places and move into Chandler Gilbert Community College at the Pecos intersection. Passing Chandler and Ray, the area is primarily backed up to residential lots until you hit the Civic Center/downtown Gilbert area, which is much more commercialized with small businesses. Otherwise, there's not a lot going on in this area.

E Guadalupe Road intersect with 48th street in Ahwatukee, which provides access through to Baseline Road and entrance to the I-10 freeway. There are some nice apartment complexes here at South Mountain, also with nice eateries and shopping nearby. If you cross the bridge on Guadalupe over the 10 towards Priest, the neighborhood is VERY dicey. You can play a game of "count the strays" and hit double digits in no time - it's that kind of neighborhood. The people are friendly but there is a lot of poverty here, and car theft is rampant in this area. Lock your doors, for sure.

North McQueen turns to South McQueen Road at Chandler Boulevard. The street is a mixture of residential and commercial properties. Just below Pecos Rd is the entrance to the Loop 202/SanTan Freeway, and south of this is primarily farm land (complete with the smell of fresh manure), But north of the 202 on McQueen, there are amenities such as corner store markets/Circle K, gas stations, grocery stores, etc.

University Drive can be a confusing street for newcomers to the Phoenix metro area, because it actually runs through Mesa and Tempe. So there is an East/West University in Tempe, and then another one traveling through Mesa. University Drive in Mesa turns east at Center Street. It is a fairly busy street, and includes both residential and commercial areas. There seem to be a large number of trailer/mobile home parks on this street as you move further east, so it’s home to many of the snowbirds who come to Arizona for the warmth during the winter months. For this reason, there is a strong elderly population in this area. There are plenty of doctor’s offices, grocery stores, churches, and pharmacies on this stretch of road. It’s fairly well lit, even at night, and is one of the safer streets in Mesa.

E. Chandler Blvd turns to West at the intersection of the I-10 freeway in Chandler. (There is an entrance/exit to the freeway here.) Further east, there is also access to the 101 loop which can take you up to Scottsdale fairly quickly unless it's rush hour. W. Chandler Blvd is home to the Chandler Fashion Square mall, with lots of high-end stores and plenty of restaurants, including the Cheesecake Factory, Bennihana, P.F. Chang's, etc. The street is also home to campuses for major area employers, including Intel, Countrywide, and Microchip. There are plenty of amenities on this street, whether you're looking for a hair/nail salon, grocery store, pharmacy, etc.

Arizona Avenue/87 turns to South Arizona Avenue at Chandler Boulevard in Chandler. The historic district runs through this area, and you’ll find a good variety of shops and restaurants in the San Marcos plaza. If you’re a wine connoisseur, you might want to check out 98 South Wine Bar and Kitchen - a quaint little eatery with lots of charm. Also in the plaza is the San Tan Brewing Company, for those preferring beer. South of this area, Arizona Avenue is largely open space and farmland.

South of Chandler Boulevard, South Dobson Road is a convenient access route to the 202/San Tan Freeway and a good alternate route to the 101 in heavy traffic if you are going north/south. The road provides access to the main local hospital - Chandler Regional - and to a wide array of doctor’s offices that surround the hospital. There is an urgent care (Nextcare) right across from the hospital, and a CVS pharmacy south of there. There is an open stretch of road, largely undeveloped, between Queen Creek and Germann on South Dobson. It looks as though there is some future development planned here.

South Alma School Road is one of the main streets going north/south in Chandler. The road runs parallel to the 101 freeway, and is an alternate route if that route becomes too crowded. The street is largely made up of strip malls, sprinkled with fast food restaurants, churches, pharmacies, and restaurants. There are several major grocers, including a Safeway, Frye’s, and Basha’s. On Sundays, Alma School is significantly slowed due to church traffic, which is usually managed by the Chandler Police. I would suggest an alternate route if you’re traveling around noon on Sundays. Otherwise, the road is very convenient for travel, and provides access to the 202 San Tan Freeway.

Queen Creek Road spans a good distance east to west in the Southern part of Chandler - towards Sun Lakes. Much of the road is surrounded by farm land, dirt paths, and open lots for future development. Between Dobson and Alma School Roads, development has already concluded in the form of various mini-malls and shopping plazas. These areas include several grocery stores, major restaurants like Applebee’s and Carrabba’s, and fast food chains including McDonald’s, and Chipotle. There are several financial institutions on Queen Creek at Alma School, including Bank of America and Chase. A few apartment complexes are also in this area.