Tempe staff present outreach and safety findings for Transportation Plan 2050

Lindsay Post, senior planner in Tempe's transportation planning team, updated the council on findings from public outreach for the Tempe Transportation Plan 2050, highlighting safety priorities, gaps in transit frequency, and public interest in bicycling improvements and shade.

Post said project outreach reached over 30,000 people through events, mailings and online tools. The project received about 400 unique survey responses and about 700 text responses to open-ended questions. Key quantitative takeaways: roughly 60% of respondents listed driving as their primary mode, 14.5% listed biking, 37% asked for bicycle travel to be prioritized, and 67% said they would walk more if there were more shade. Respondents also ranked separated, low-stress bike routes and improved signal treatments as top safety priorities.

Staff presented interactive level-of-service and high-injury-network maps showing projected 2050 congestion concentrated north of Apache and identifying that just over half of serious and fatal crashes occurred at mid-block locations. Post said the analysis found high transit demand north of the US 60 and gaps in off-peak and frequency service that create unmet demand.

Next steps include an extended public survey window through March 18 and a round of project recommendations and prioritization to start next month, culminating in draft and final plan deliverables later in the year. HDR, the project consultant, will summarize public input and post the needs-and-gaps report on the project website.