Gilbert runs long and narrow from US 60 on the north to the Queen Creek line on the south, and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway cuts across its southern half. US 60, the Superstition Freeway, marks the northern edge, and the Loop 101 sits just west in Chandler. Most daily driving happens on the north-south arterials, which are Gilbert Road, Lindsay Road, Val Vista Drive, Greenfield Road, Higley Road and Power Road, crossed every mile by Baseline, Guadalupe, Elliot, Warner, Ray, Williams Field and Pecos.
Those arterials carry school, commuter and shopping traffic all day, and the busiest spots are the Santan Freeway interchanges at Val Vista, Higley and Power and the corridors around the regional mall and hospital campuses near the 202. Traffic signals come every half mile, so stop-and-go is the norm. A car that dies at a light on Val Vista or in a packed parking lot is easy for a mechanic to reach, since nearly every neighborhood sits within a few turns of a major road.
Light rail ends just north in Mesa, and bus service is limited, so Gilbert is a town of driveways and two- or three-car households. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is a short drive east, and Sky Harbor is a longer trip west on the 202 or US 60. The Heritage District at Gilbert Road and Elliot draws evening and weekend crowds to its restaurants, and its public parking garage is a frequent meeting point. Canal paths and greenbelts wind through many neighborhoods, but they're for walking and biking, so the mechanic will always come in from the street side.
