The Arizona Department of Transportation, through the Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) program, awarded funding for the City of Sierra Vista Safe Bicycle and Pedestrian Routes Plan. Improving bicycle and pedestrian safety has many benefits to the city of Sierra Vista and its residents. Improving and providing safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities provides a viable transportation option for those people who cannot or do not drive. In addition, it is anticipated that development of a network of safe bicycle and pedestrian routes will increase the number of bicycle and pedestrian trips, thus reducing reliance on personal vehicles.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Game & Fish Department and the Arizona State Parks Board are required to conduct a study every three years on watercraft fuel consumption and recreational watercraft usage. The fuel consumption data is collected to determine the allocation of motor vehicle fuel tax to the State Lake Improvement Fund. The information on recreational watercraft usage patterns on Arizona’s lakes and rivers is necessary, in part, to determine the distribution of SLIF funds to applicants.

This study focuses in the area surrounding the municipalities of: Town of Pima, City of Thatcher and City of Safford. The junction of the two major state routes, US 191 and US 70 is located in the heart of these communities and serves as major arterials for local travelers. Parsons Brinckerhoff has been commissioned by ADOT to perform this preliminary assessment for the development of an alternate route through the Thatcher/Safford/Pima area.

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.

With the advent of multi-modal transportation planning, and given that most of the major metropolitan areas in Arizona have implemented bicycle and pedestrian plans, it is now desirable that ADOT develop a bicycle and pedestrian plan that encompasses all of Arizona. The major intent of the Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan is to provide a long-term plan for a system of shared roadways and bicycle and pedestrian facilities for the ADOT State Highway System. This includes the definition of the roles of the State and local government in the continual development of the bicycle and pedestrian transportation system in Arizona. It also includes the identification of all existing bicycle and pedestrian plans of the MPOs within Arizona to address the relationship between ADOT and the jurisdictions in the advancement of these plans. In addition, this plan includes design and maintenance guidelines for consideration by all implementing agencies in Arizona. Most importantly, this statewide bicycle and pedestrian plan guides ADOT in making transportation decisions impacting bicycling and pedestrian activity, and improves the accommodation of these non-motorized modes of transportation within Arizona’s multi-modal transportation system.

The Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Phase II Plan focuses on implementing some of the main recommendations of the Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Phase I Plan. This includes the development of documents for statewide distribution, the development of plans for a number of future programs, and significant improvements to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program website.