The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and local/regional partners are hosting a series of community workshops in late March and early April across the state to solicit public input on a long-range vision for the future of transportation in Arizona.  This statewide transportation planning process looks ahead to the year 2050 and is also known as “Building a Quality Arizona.”

For purposes of study, the state has been divided into four regions.  Regional Framework Studies kicked off earlier this year for Northern, Western, Central and Eastern Arizona. The first phase of the year-long Framework Planning Process focuses on “Existing Conditions and Issues Identification.” The community will be asked:  “What is your vision of the future of Arizona and your region?” and “Based on what you think the future holds, what are the transportation needs for your region?”

The Community Workshops are designed to encourage local communities to hear information about the process, review the work to date, and provide input, according to ADOT officials.  All workshops are open to the public.  

ADOT is partnering with local and regional planning organizations across the state such as local councils of government and metropolitan planning organizations, as well as tribal communities, the business/development community, and the environmental/conservation community to ensure the true statewide collaboration that is necessary to make this effort a success.

For more information on Community Workshops near you or general information about the study please visit www.bqaz.gov.

ADOT says the Framework process is a unique and unprecedented way of looking at transportation planning because:

• The Framework Process looks farther into the  future than ever before. Traditional planning timeframes are about 20  years. This process looks out to 2050.  

• Most planning processes are cost-constrained,  meaning that they look at the dollars available and then try to fit transportation improvements within those dollars. This process is not cost  constrained, but instead considers what is needed in the future.

• This statewide process is unprecedented in the  United States  because it will examine transportation in the context of community and  economic development.  This is important to communities at the local  level because it is an opportunity to look ahead at community and economic  development patterns, and the desires of local and regional communities in  terms of growth and development, to make smart choices about the future.

• The Regional Framework Studies will be  compiled in early 2009 into a Statewide Planning Framework that truly  reflects the desires and growth trends at the local level.

Southern Arizona Community workshops are scheduled as follows:

√ Sierra Vista, Monday, March 31, 2008, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., St. Andrew Catholic Parish Kino Hall, 800 N. Taylor  Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635

√ Nogales, Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., Americana Motor Hotel, 639 N. Grand  Avenue, Nogales, AZ 85621