We are pleased to present a first draft of a Five-Year Strategic Transit Plan for input and review. Your comments and suggestions on the Plan will ensure that transit meets the travel and mobility needs of the Tucson area. Once you have provided your input we will make revisions and issue a final Five-Year Transit Strategic Plan. The Transit Task Force sees this plan as a working document which provides a framework for monitoring the progress of transit in our community. The Plan does not directly answer all your questions or address all of your concerns, but it does outline additional tasks needing to be completed to do so. Thus the Transit Task Force requests that it be given permanent status to ensure continuity in the transit planning and review process, and enabling it to further develop policies identified in the Plan as needing more work.

In 2011, Drachman Institute contracted with the Arizona Department of Housing to develop a public education project about sustainable communities and transit-oriented development along the Metro Light Rail in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Arizona. The resulting reports present neighborhood analyses and transit-oriented development issues for eight light rail stations selected by the Arizona Department of Housing and the Sustainable Communities Working Group, providing base information on the square half mile area surrounding these sites.

At a “micro” level, the study developed information and provided recommendations to assist each of the paratransit programs in the region to operate services in the most efficient and effective manner possible. At the “macro” level, the study considered alternative regional service designs and developed a regional service plan for the area that would improve mobility for people with disabilities and satisfy the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Valley Metro conducted a transit on-board survey between October 2010 and February 2011. The purpose of the survey was to better understand the travel pattern of transit users in the metropolitan Phoenix area, particularly the impact that light rail has had on regional travel patterns. The survey included nearly 100 bus routes and all light rail stations.

Recognizing that public art is an integral element to the success of the system, METRO was proud to incorporate artists in the design process from the very start. The public art that resulted from this process is a celebration of place and community. Each station boasts its own unique character with artwork that strives to add substance, style and even a touch of whimsy to the transit experience.