The primary purpose of this study was to develop a plan that enables the Town to facilitate safer and more efficient infrastructure for the traveling public and guide the development of the Business District. This study recommends phased improvement projects to address the multimodal transportation needs of the community, while steering community development and project funding. The study findings will also be incorporated into the Town's Capital Improvement Planning process for the next 5-, 10-, and 20-year time frames.

The Pinal Creek Trail corridor study is being conducted in conjunction with the Cobre Valley Comprehensive Transportation Study, to provide alternative modes of transportation to key educational and recreational areas in the Globe area. The purpose of the study is to review previous trail studies and recreation trail plans that will address the most critical current and future non-motorized modes of transportation within the study area. The concept of turning Pinal Creek, which runs through the City, into a functioning urban greenbelt, has long been the dream of several citizens of the community.

The Cobre Valley Comprehensive Transportation Study is a joint effort by the City of Globe, Town of Miami, the Arizona Department of Transportation, Gila County, and the Central Arizona Governments. The purpose of the study is to develop a long-range multimodal transportation plan that addresses the most critical current and future transportation needs of the Cobre Valley region. The study was funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s State Planning and Research Program and administered through ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division.

The South Arizona Avenue Entry Corridor Study is prompted by a Mayor and Council goal for redeveloping the section of Arizona Avenue from Pecos Road to Boston Street as a new entryway to downtown from the Santan/Loop 202 Freeway. The plan was created with extensive neighborhood participation,which included six neighborhood meetings and individual meetings with property owners.The comprehensive approach to this study can be broken down into four primary areas: Land Use,Traffic Circulation, Conceptual Design Standards, and Neighborhood Planning.

The City of Chandler developed the South Arizona Avenue Entry Corridor Study in 2006, setting forth a vision for the development of the corridor between Dr. A.J. Chandler Park and the new SanTan Freeway, ¾ mile to the south. Between downtown and the freeway is the corridor that the City intends to see redeveloped, with mixed residential and commercial uses to create a dynamic new “front door” for Chandler. The purpose of these design guidelines is to guide zoning requests within the South Arizona Avenue Corridor to achieve the objectives of the Chandler General Plan. The overall goal of these objectives is to implement the vision for South Arizona Avenue. The guidelines address the major design aspects of new office, retail and residential buildings in the corridor. Design Guidelines are not building or streetscape designs; they provide design direction so that each project’s architectural design will reinforce the City’s strategic intentions as this important area of the city responds to its new role as Chandler’s “front door.” These guidelines also identify streetscape design principles for South Arizona Avenue with the objective of coordinating public and private design in the Corridor.

The best way to evaluate job quality would be to analyze a dataset that presents both occupational and industrial data, but the only dataset of this nature available by state comes from the decennial census. It is severely limited by small sample size, the latest data are for 1999, and the 1999 data are not consistent with the 1989 data. Thus, the initial work by the Seidman Institute on job quality ("Job Quality in Arizona," March 2005) presented data on Arizona job quality from several sources of either industrial or occupational data. "Job Quality in Arizona Compared to All States" (June 2005), is an extension of the March 2005 report. Arizona’s job quality in the latest year and its change over time is compared to the national
average and is ranked among the 51 “states” (including the District of Columbia).

Available data on the cost of living indicate that living costs in Arizona are close to the national average — thus, the state’s lower-than-average wages are not offset by low living costs. No productivity data exist for Arizona. Worker productivity in Arizona could be below the national average due to lesser investments in physical or human capital, which would result in lower wages. Labor market supply and demand factors are a likely cause of the low wages in Arizona. A substantial number of people seem willing to move to Arizona and accept a substandard wage in exchange for perceived qualitative advantages to living in Arizona, primarily climate.