1999 Grant Recipient Information
Arizona

Transit Overlay District and University Drive Subarea Study/integrated Transportation Plan, Model, and Local Transit-Oriented Design Guidelines
City of Tempe, Arizona

Abstract

As one of the only land-locked, redeveloping communities in the state of Arizona, and as part of the 6th largest metropolitan area in the United States, Tempe must be a forerunner in changing regional (and Western) transportation and development patterns that have supported the creation of urban sprawl. Through a number of initiatives (voter-supported transit tax, rail study, Tempe Works, Community Bus, and community developed neighborhood strategic plans), Tempeans have identified the need to create a livable, sustainable community through comprehensive planning efforts that will simultaneously achieve transportation and redevelopment objectives. Elected officials, City staff and community leaders all agree on the need to coordinate transportation and land use planning. This project provides a mechanism to complete the most community-driven elements of the comprehensive transportation and land use plan that is simply not available without the support of the TCSP.

The items to be completed with $225,000 in TCSP funds are:

• A transportation subarea study and implementation plan (including design concept report) for University Drive that will coordinate neighborhood goals to narrow/traffic calm the street while identifying strategies to combat a range of area transportation issues (,e.g. regional through/local destination traffic congestion, potential neighborhood cut-through traffic) with an approach that emphasizes both non-SOV transportation and community redevelopment (e.g., neighborhood oriented services with "Main Street" type urban development forms).

• Creation of a transit-oriented overlay district model, which can be supported by neighborhoods and the development community. It would initially be implemented on University Drive and in the NewTowN service area, and could subsequently be used in other parts of Tempe and in other communities as a tool to stimulate sustainable development, in lieu of the more time-consuming modifications to local zoning codes. This effort in Tempe is community-driven, and will require extensive efforts by the NewTowN neighborhoods who have identified various related objectives for the district in their Council-adopted Neighborhood Strategic Plan, including the creation of sensitive infill projects, support for parking reduction and transit-oriented urban design, calmed traffic and enhanced pedestrian and bicycle travelways and transit services, and optimized use of public and semi-public spaces. The overlay district would include both requirements and incentives.

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