Arizona Department of Transportation Building a Quality Arizona Project
www.bqaz.gov
Email Newsletter: October 15, 2008
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is holding a series of workshops throughout the state in November 2008 for the ongoing “bqAZ” or “Building a Quality Arizona” framework planning 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.
Your input is needed to help shape Arizona into a more desirable home for future generations! Twelve Community Workshops are scheduled between November 10 and 20, 2008. Please visit www.bqaz.gov for a complete list of workshop dates, times, and locations statewide.
Arizonans Plan a Legacy of Smart Growth for the Future
 Arizona is a vast and majestic state. Many of us travel long distances to reach our workplace, medical and commercial services and other personal needs. How we develop our system of transportation linkages…modes that allow us to have mass transit and short distance transportation options beyond the inefficient “one car-one driver” mode of transportation…are the focus of the statewide planning effort called Building a Quality Arizona, or bqAZ. Arizonans from all walks of life…urban rural and, working or retired, are invited to contribute their insights to the planning process. Dr.Clinton L. Pattea, President of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, sums up the need for integrated planning in a nutshell: “Planning for the future is the most valuable work we do. It’s important that we leave the legacy of a better life for our children and grandchildren.” Arizona residents have a unique opportunity to create a legacy for future generations by contributing their ideas to the statewide transportation planning initiative currently underway. |
Principles of Smart Growth
1. Mix land uses
2. Take advantage of compact building design
3. Create a range of housing opportunities & choices
4. Create walkable neighborhoods
5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty & critical environmental areas
7. Strengthen & direct development towards existing communities
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices
9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, & cost effective
10. Encourage community & stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
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Make Your Mark on Arizona’s Future
 To reach as many residents as possible, Building a Quality Arizona (bqAZ), is hosting a second statewide series of open public planning sessions in November, 2008.
Twelve Community Workshops are scheduled between November 10 and 20, 2008. Please visit www.bqaz.gov for a complete list of workshop dates, times, and locations statewide. Each of these sessions will showcase a variety of integrated transportation “scenarios” developed from the public input meetings held in April and May of 2008, and vetted by engineers and planners who created integrated transportation options for the future. Combining input for four major regions of the state, tribal organizations, and Maricopa and Pima County, this project uses public involvement of citizens from all walks of life to satisfy the needs of rural and urban areas, with an eye to the economic, social, environmental needs of all Arizonans.
Multimodal Transportation: The Gift of Time
 Evelyn Casuga, APS General Manager, Rural AZ Customer Service/Community Development, lives in Casa Grande and commutes daily to Phoenix. “If public transit were available to me, the gift of time would be such a treasure. With my PDA I could work during the travel time, stay up on reading material and arrive home with the details of the day completed. Using travel time more productively would be a bonus for work and family.”
Husband Jerry Stabley, Pinal County Planning Director, commutes from Casa Grande to Florence every day. “As a couple, we would essentially have 15 hours a week for personal time if we had some kind of “park and ride” or mass transit option between work and home. I could correspond with friends and family via e-mail, read, listens to my favorite programming, tie up nagging work details, or just relax and regroup. ”
Convenient, Affordable Transportation Drives Business Vitality
 Transportation is the cornerstone of the development of diverse business opportunity throughout Arizona. Jane Bristol, Economic Director for the City of Prescott, says that a flexible transportation network would tie together all aspects of business vitality in the fast-growing sector of Yavapai and Coconino Counties. “Providing diverse multimodal options for rural Arizona such as the greater Prescott area, is a critical component to successful economic development. The efficient movement of the workforce and goods in a region is not only needed, it is expected by our business community. Transportation options are an integral part of our infrastructure.”
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Arizona Strives for “Smart Growth”
Kristen Keener Busby, Director of the Office of Smart Growth of the Arizona Department of Commerce, indicates that the transportation infrastructure is the “glue” that connects all aspects of our quality of life. “Integrated transportation systems support economic vitality, reduce stress on individuals and their budgets, puts essential goods and services nearby, and are easier on the environment. A key component of Smart Growth for the Arizona’s future is linking housing, work, educational and recreational opportunities with an easily accessible multimodal transportation system.” http://www.azcommerce.com/SmartGrowth/Office/
Make Your Personal Mark on Arizona’s Future
You and your neighbors are invited to attend the bqAZ public meetings being held across the state in November, 2009. Based on public input and professional transportation expertise, representatives of the regional planning components of bqAZ will present optional multi-modal plans for public input and review. These possible “scenarios” are designed to take the needs of all the areas or the state into consideration, factored in demographics, funding realities, and social and environmental concerns. Please visit www.bqAZ.org for the schedule to times and locations, and plan to attend and contribute your ideas and insights. Question? Call Kristin Bornstein, ADOT Communication and Community Partnerships, 602-368-9644 for more detailed information.
Twelve Community Workshops are scheduled between November 10 and 20, 2008. Please visit www.bqaz.gov for a complete list of workshop dates, times, and locations statewide .
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