[Source: Sean Holstege, Arizona Republic] — Picture new Phoenix-size cities beyond the mountains to the far south and west of the Valley, and you get a glimpse of how the region’s future might unfold over the next half-century.  Now imagine how twice as many people as live here today would get around such a vastly expanded urban landscape, and you begin to appreciate the enormous challenge facing state and regional transportation planners.

To cope with Arizona’s anticipated long-range population boom, planners at the Maricopa Association of Governments have sketched out a far-reaching network of new freeways and highways beyond the White Tank and Estrella mountains, serving an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, and an urban landscape stretching as far as the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

MAG’s plans envision 400 miles of new highways and 320 miles of rail track to support the millions of people projected to move into the vast desert area by 2050.  That would double the current highway system and create a commuter-rail network that would loop around the southern mountains and deliver a badly needed line to the West Valley.  MAG estimates that it would cost the region a daunting $60 billion to build all the projects on its drawing boards.

Residents already concerned about sprawl wonder, with traffic and air quality as bad as they are today, how unbearable metropolitan Phoenix will become with 8 million people living here.  Others react with skepticism.  They question whether the economy would ever be strong enough to lure such numbers of people here or whether sufficient water or electricity would be available to support such far-flung growth.  “Being able to stop all these people coming is probably impossible, but is this plan really possible?  Could this really happen?  And if it could, should it?” says Dave Richins, state policy director for the Sonoran Institute, a non-profit group that advocates desert preservation.

The strategy is based on decades-old migration and birth statistics and on existing land- development rights.  Long-range plans for roads to serve non- existent cities don’t foster speculative sprawl, the planners say; they anticipate what’s already in the works.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is looking ahead and next month will unveil an expansive long-term blueprint for the entire state.  The agency’s director, John Halikowski, described the scope as “breathtaking.”  [Note: Read the full article at 2050 vision for metro Phoenix: 400 miles of new highways.]

 The story of the “Wild West” of Arizona, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, is fascinating. And no one tells it more vividly or accurately than the six authors of  Manhunts & Massacres. This compilation of stories published by the Arizona Dept. of Transportation, is part of the Wild West Collection of its Arizona Highways Book series. You’ll hear about murdering army deserters, native american warriors who chose death over surrender, a legendary sheriff who got the drop on a fugitive murderer, Spanish soldiers who hunt down Navajo warriors,  and a fierce killer as he faces the noose.

The story of inept ranchers who ambushed Army pay wagons, draft dodgers who flee to Mexico but are hunted down by an unrelenting posse, and a diminutive Tucson pioneer who hunts Geronimo are fascinating tales you won’t want to miss.

[Source: Arizona Department of Transportation] — Your input is needed to help shape Arizona into a more desirable home for future generations.  The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is making progress on a Statewide Transportation Planning Study developing a long range vision for future transportation needs in Arizona.  “Building a Quality Arizona” (bqAZ) focuses on needs in the year 2050 and is a statewide collaborative process to identify the full range of options to address future needs.

ADOT has made it easy to participate in the Statewide Transportation Planning Study.  By visiting the bqAZ website between now and January 31, 2009, you can review all the information presented at the most recent community workshops and provide your input.

Online participation is available for each of the four Regional Studies: Northern, Western, Eastern, and Central.  You can choose which Regional Study you would like to participate in depending on where you live, work, play, or wherever you would like to provide input.

[Source: Arizona Department of Transportation] — ADOT is holding a series of community workshops throughout November for the ongoing Building a Quality Arizona (bqAZ) statewide transportation planning framework process.  This process began in early 2008 when communities provided their thoughts on future transportation needs.  Our team has incorporated that information into possible future scenarios which will be presented for review and comment during the upcoming workshops.  Public and private environmental organizations are encouraged to attend the workshops and contribute ideas and insights.

The focus of these workshops is working together to develop a transportation system that includes linkages and modes that allow us to have transportation options beyond what we have today.  Transportation options are healthy for community quality of life, the environment, and the economy.

Principles of Smart Growth

1. Mix land uses
2. Take advantage of compact building design
3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
4. Create walkable neighborhoods
5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
7. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices
9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

13 community workshops are scheduled between November 10 and 20.  Click here for a complete list of workshop dates, times, and locations statewide.  Questions?  Call Kristin Bornstein, ADOT Communication and Community Partnerships, at 602-368-9644 for more information.  Click here for a printable invitation.

[Source: Glen Creno, Arizona Republic] — The state Department of Transportation has won a $1 million federal grant to help pay for a study of passenger rail service between Tucson and Phoenix.  The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Arizona will match the $1 million with funds from state, local, tribal, and private sources.  The money is for the first year of an environmental impact statement.

Rail service connecting the two cities has been talked about for years.  Most recently, it was proposed as part of a statewide transportation-funding initiative that failed to make this year’s ballot.  Planners say the line would run through a developing “megapolitan” — an uber-urban mass of development that would merge the two cities.

[Source: Ron Sanzone, Arizona Republic] – Unless an appeal to get Proposition 203 on the ballot succeeds, light rail will lose a chance to win hundreds of millions of dollars for the system’s expansion.  The Secretary of State’s office announced Monday that the Arizona measure to raise $42.6 billion in transportation funds through a 1 cent sales tax increase did not receive enough valid signatures to qualify for November’s ballot.  Transportation and Infrastructure Moving Arizona’s Economy, the organization that wrote the TIME Act, as the initiative is also known, is expected to appeal the decision.

If the appeal succeeds and voters approve the new tax, Maricopa County would receive $600 million for what the Arizona Department of Transportation categorizes as “light rail, modern streetcar, and related high capacity transit.”  According to TIME, up to $400 million of that money would go to expanding the Valley’s light rail system.  However, ADOT says that it would decide along with Maricopa Association of Governments how to allocate the full $600 million that includes the light rail project in the county.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

[Source: Arizona Department of Transportation] — Two major freeways in central Phoenix will have ramp meters activated next week to help drivers merge safely and ease the flow of traffic during morning and evening commutes.  The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will activate the ramp meters in time for the morning commute on Tuesday, Aug. 5.  They are located on westbound and eastbound I-10 (Maricopa Freeway), and on northbound I-17 (Black Canyon Freeway).

• Westbound I-10 ramp meters will be activated at 40th St., 32nd St./University Dr., and Sky Harbor Blvd. during the morning commute from 6 to 9 a.m.
• Eastbound I-10 ramp meters will operate during the evening commute from 3 to 7 p.m. and are located at 24th St., 32nd St./University Dr., and 40th St.
• Northbound I-17 ramp meters will also regulate traffic during the evening rush hour.  They are located at 16th St., Seventh St., and Seventh Ave.

[Note: To read the full press release, click here.]

[Source: Beth Litwin, Arizona Republic, June 24, 2008] — Residents of Phoenix, Glendale, and Peoria will have the opportunity to offer their input on potential Grand Avenue improvements during a series of three upcoming public meetings.

The community meeting in Phoenix will be 6-8 p.m., July 8 in the Clubhouse at Encanto Park, 2605 N. 15th Ave.

Proposed improvements to be discussed are along Grand Avenue from Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) to McDowell Road and are in addition to the upcoming widening project that is scheduled to start next year.  Grand Avenue will be expanded to three lanes in each direction from Loop 303 to 83rd Avenue, by 2011.

A presentation will begin 30 minutes after the start of each meeting where members of the public will learn about the proposed construction projects.  Members of the study team and ADOT representatives will also field questions from residents.  The improvements are scheduled for construction in Phase I (2006-2010) of the voter-approved Regional Transportation Plan for Maricopa County.  For information, contact the Northwest Valley Community Outreach Team at 480-890-3055.  [Note: To view and download a PDF of the proposed improvements, click here.]

Business, government, and civic leaders keep talking about creating sustainable communities, and some of the big components are: having a mix of transportation options, connecting land use and transportation systems so Arizonans have a way to connect housing with jobs, schools, etc., and preserving open space.

The State Transportation Board will host public hearings in June to invite public comments on a statewide transportation program developed by the Arizona Department of Transportation collaboratively with regional and local transportation partners from across the state.  Click here to preview and download a document that outlines a transportation program that would be funded through a ballot initiative filed by the TIME (Transportation and Infrastructure Moving Arizona’s Economy) Coalition.

The Phoenix public hearing will be held Wednesday, June 11, 5-7 p.m., Phoenix Convention Center West 106 B and C Meeting Rooms, 100 N. 3rd St.  For more information on the hearings, to provide comments, or for general information, click here.

If you can’t make this meeting and you still want to know more about why transportation is an important issue, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is willing to host a public event in July.  According to Teresa Brice, LISC Executive Director, “If this makes it on the ballot in November, we should know what we are voting on.  If we are going to be taxed to support it, we should know what we are getting and how we can influence future projects.”  If interested in participating in a July event, contact Teresa by e-mail or 602-252-6313.

Transit center groundbreaking setThe City of Mesa will officially break ground for the new Sycamore Transit Center, Saturday, January 27, at 9:30 AM. The transit center is located on the northwest corner of Main and Sycamore, just east of Dobson Road.

Mesa parks improvements — courtesy of Hollywood

Additional playground equipment and some renovations are in the plans for City of Mesa parks as a result of a donation from NBC Universal, which is shooting a movie in the City.

The motion picture firm, which has been filming “The Kingdom” throughout the Valley this summer, has donated $40,000 to Parks and Recreation for the inconvenience of closing down two miles of the Red Mountain (Loop 202) freeway in northeast Mesa.  The Arizona Department of Transportation allowed the closure, which falls within the Mesa city limits.

Part of the donation will be used on the installation of new playground equipment at a parks basin at 64th Street and Brown Road.  Additional funds will be used on the expansion and renovation of multi-purpose fields at Red Mountain Park, adjacent to Red Mountain High School, off Brown Road, east of Power Road.

The freeway between Higley and Power Roads is scheduled for two additional weekend closures — from 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, to 5 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 7, and then from 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, to 5 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 14.