Building an active transportation network to serve the fifth largest city in the U.S., and a city encompassing over 500 square miles with diverse priorities, is no small feat. One of the primary objectives of the planning process was to create a network development approach that was not map- based, could be driven by community needs, and could be quickly implemented so that the momentum around a rapidly expanding active transportation network could be accelerated.
The Phoenix Active Transportation Plan met this key objective by creating a Network Development Program that uses the city’s Urban Villages as a manageable planning scale to identify neighborhood-scale active transportation priorities. Each year, the City will conduct two urban village assessments, each of which will be driven by a committee made up of residents, businesses, and neighborhood leaders. The assessment will result in the identification of key gaps and priorities that respond to the diverse needs of Phoenix’s residents and neighborhood areas. Priorities will be immediately implemented through quick build projects the following two years after the assessment occurs, with larger projects being added as a capital project.
To support equity in the distribution of funding and network prioritization, urban villages with the highest equity scorings will be the first to undergo assessments and have quick build implementation. This neighborhood-scale approach will happen in tandem with larger, citywide active transportation improvements.
The Plan also contains a policy element, with short-, mid-, and longer-term policy objectives, based on a thorough assessment of internal processes and procedures, that will continue to push progress around active transportation and support the city’s multimodal, safety, and climate objectives. Finally, the first set of comprehensive design guidance was created to guide the next generation of active transportation facility design.
Alta was supported by Collective Equity Partners (CEP) who has deep community roots with a focus on systems-change that responds to and reflects community-driven priorities.