PHOENIX, AZ – What will Arizona look like in 40 years?
That is the question the Arizona Department of Transportation is posing to Valley residents this month in hopes of receiving public opinion on several dramatic proposals for the future of the transportation framework.
ADOT has posted an online survey for residents to take during the month of November on three potential scenarios for the coming years that include a variety of changes like widened freeways and an interstate railway.
The scenarios are essentially "theme-based" features that have been incorporated into the existing transportation scheme.
One scenario projects that by 2050, the majority of the population will rely on personal vehicles as a primary mode of transportation.
This plan incorporates new roadways, widened freeways, and improved passing lanes and drainage ditches.
The new roadways could be most dramatic in the far West Valley, where growth is expected to skyrocket.
The scenario includes an upgraded interstate that would run from the West Valley up to I-40 in Northern Arizona.
The plan also creates a passenger railway from Wickenburg down to Florence, west to Casa Grande and up to Buckeye.
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second scenario is based on the "theme" that personal vehicle use will be secondary and that residents will rely more on mass public transit, walking, or biking.
This framework incorporates the most dramatic of changes, including plans for a potential high speed train pathway that stretches into California and Nevada.
The rail line could take passengers from Phoenix to Flagstaff, Tucson and San Diego, among other places.
The framework also incorporates more light rail within city limits.
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final scenario focuses on compacted growth with a dense population that does NOT continuously expand outward, but instead is concentrated.
In this scenario, personal vehicles are of primary use but there is also an increase public transit use as well as more advances made in alternative fuel vehicles.
This framework also includes plans for a high speed railway, but with fewer outstretching pathways and an emphasis on upgrades for existing roadways.
ADOT officials say it's important to present large scale scenarios like the ones above because the projects require early preparation and planning.
According to projections from the ADOT’s “Building a Quality Arizona” initiative (BQAZ), Arizona is expected to nearly triple its population from 6 million people to 15+ million by the year 2050.
The department also foresees impending funding issues by 2015.
Valley motorists who still wish to voice their opinion on the scenarios are encouraged to learn more about them and take the online survey on the BQAZ
website.
