The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-modal transportation plan that outlines the region’s transportation priority projects and provides a plan for ultimate implementation. The transportation study was focused around identifying regional mobility needs that can accommodate the anticipated future population and employment growth. This transportation study is a joint effort of Navajo County, the City of Holbrook, the City of Winslow and the Arizona Department of Transportation to develop multi-modal transportation recommendations for the study area, Heber-Overgaard, Holbrook and Winslow over a 20-year planning horizon.

The Yuma Regional Transit Study identifies transit needs within southwestern Yuma County and presents recommended transit system improvements based on three funding scenarios. This study examined current and projected population, demographics, and employment for the region, conducted extensive public outreach and data collection, identified transit deficiencies and developed recommended transit improvements based on the identified deficiencies.

Pima County, in partnership with the National Park Service, has been an active participant in the development of a 70 mile segment of the trail. With the preparation of this Master Plan, Pima County has embarked on an active program to acquire the necessary rights-of-way and easements and to construct the Pima County segment of the national historic trail.

In 1992, Graham County conducted a transportation study for the Gila Valley Region. This study prepared a long-range transportation plan and a transportation improvement program. Many of the improvements have been completed. The purpose of this study is to update the 1992 transportation plan and to address the current issues within the area.

The Graham County, Safford, Thatcher, Pima Small Area Transportation Study was initiated by Graham County, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Transportation, to develop a countywide, long-range multimodal transportation plan for this growing rural Arizona community. The project sponsors selected the PB Americas team to conduct this study under the direction of a Technical Advisory Committee, which included representatives from Graham County, City of Safford, Town of Thatcher, Town of Pima, Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization, and ADOT.

This paper complements a detailed assessment of job quality, based on analysis of industrial and occupational mix, recently completed by the Seidman Institute’s Center for Business Research. The overall conclusions in this report are consistent with those of the more extensive CBR research. Arizona’s economy grows very rapidly, but per person or per worker measures of wages, compensation, incomes, and gross state product are below the national average. No evidence exists that the situation is improving appreciably (or deteriorating). Indeed, the state appears to be creating income, wealth and quality jobs at rates that are similar to those displayed by other states. Arizona is a job-generating marvel and is among the nation’s leaders in aggregate growth. If the state is successful at improving the quality of its labor force and creating higher-quality jobs, its per worker and per person comparisons will improve.

Regional economic theory states that a local economy is driven by economic activities that import money into the region (county or state in this report) through the sales of goods and services to customers who do not live in the region. Such export activities differ from population-driven activities, which sell to and support the local population. “Export” in this usage is not limited to goods and services sold to customers from other countries, but includes all sales made to customers outside the local region — at the state level, in other states, and at the county level, in other counties within the state. An export activity sometimes is referred to as a “basic” activity — the terms are synonymous.