Final Regional Transportation Plan Input Opportunity Report
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Let’s Keep Moving! Regional Transportation Plan Input Opportunity Report November 2003 Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) 302 North First Avenue, Suite 300 Phoenix, Arizona 85003 Telephone: (602) 254-6300 Fax: (602) 254-6490 E-mail: [email protected] Contact person: Kelly Taft, MAG Communications Manager Cover page photo: Montage of public meetings TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/INTRODUCTION . ........................... 1 SECTION I. PUBLIC MEETING/HEARING COMMENTS AND STAFF RESPONSES...................................... 7 SECTION II. PUBLIC HEARING TRANSCRIPTS......................................... 81 SECTION III. E-MAIL AND ONLINE COMMENTS AND STAFF RESPONSES............... 83 SECTION IV. COMMENTS RECEIVED VIA TELEPHONE AND U.S. MAIL AND STAFF RESPONSES................................................ 125 SECTION V. RESPONSES TO COMMENTS RECEIVED AT MAG POLICY COMMITTEE MEETINGS FROM SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2003, INCLUDING THE FINAL PHASE PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2003 . 133 SECTION VI. LETTERS/CORRESPONDENCE.......................................... 161 SECTION VII. SURVEY RESULTS/PUBLIC INPUT FORM ................................ 163 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) continues to emphasize public involvement in the metropolitan transportation planning process. The intent of the public involvement provisions in TEA-21 is to increase public awareness and involvement in transportation planning and programming. TEA-21 requires that the metropolitan planning organization work cooperatively with the state department of transportation and the regional transit operator to provide citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of transportation agency employees, freight shippers, private providers of transportation, representatives of users of public transit, and other interested parties a reasonable opportunity to comment on proposed transportation plans and programs. The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) has spent the past two years conducting intensive transportation studies and talking to thousands of people to identify future transportation needs. During Phase I of the Regional Transportation Plan and the first half of Phase II, MAG held hundreds of opportunities to solicit input from the public, transportation stakeholders, elected and appointed leaders, city planners, transportation councils, and Native American Indian communities. Results of public input opportunities prior to and through June 2003 can be found in the Regional Transportation Plan Input Opportunity Interim Report. This report is available on the MAG Web site at www.mag.maricopa.gov, or can be requested through the MAG office. The input from these public meetings and events was considered by the Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) in the development of the Final Draft Stage of the Regional Transportation Plan. During the final phase of public input from July through November 2003, the MAG public involvement team conducted six public meetings/hearings, participated in special events and made presentations to several organizations. The purpose of these meetings and activities was to communicate the elements of the plan, provide both formal and informal opportunities to collect citizen comment on the plan, and ensure that the final plan incorporates citizen priorities and addresses public concerns. This report focuses on input received from July 2003 through November 21, 2003. INPUT OPPORTUNITIES Final Regional Transportation Plan – Input Opportunity Report Page 1 All comments received during the Final Draft Stage, along with staff responses to comments, are included in this Input Opportunity Report. Six public meetings/hearings were held at locations across the region, including the Central, Southwest, Northwest, Southeast and Northeast areas, as well as a Surprise/Sun City meeting and a Final Phase Public Hearing conducted at the MAG offices. In addition to the seven public meetings, six business meetings were also held to solicit review and comment on the plan by members of the business community. The business community was identified early in the process by the TPC as a key stakeholder in the development of the plan, because of the impact of transportation on the Valley’s economy. The TPC recognized that the movement of goods in and out of this region, as well as businesses’ ability to attract high quality employees through an adequate transportation system, is vital to their livelihood and survival. Comments received during the business community meetings are incorporated in this report. MAG also participated in special events such as the Latino Institute and the Grand Canyon Minority Business Opportunity Trade Fair and made presentations on the Final Draft Stage of the plan to the Mesa East Rotary Club and the East Valley Disability Advocacy Group. Dates and locations for the public meetings and other special events are listed below. The transcripts of comments received are included in Section II of this report for review. All transcript comments were answered with a formal response, which are included in Section I of this report. Section III includes responses to comments received via e-mail and online. Section IV includes responses to comments received via telephone and U.S. Mail. Section V includes responses to comments received at MAG policy committee meetings from September through November of 2003, as well as comments received during the Final Phase Public Hearing held on November 21, 2003. Section VI includes letters and correspondence, and Section VII contains a copy of the public input form and survey results. MEETING FORMAT The format for the business meetings and public meetings was the same. Business meetings were held from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. with a presentation at 4:00 p.m. Public meetings were held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a presentation at 5:30 p.m. An open house preceded the meetings featuring maps, informational materials and displays. During the presentation portion of the meeting, information on the draft plan was presented followed by a question-and-answer period. Comments and responses made during the question-and-answer period were recorded in summary form and are included in this report. A court reporter was available in a designated area to record formal comments. In addition, a “public input form” was distributed to capture comments in a survey format. The results of this survey were tabulated and can be found in Section VII, Appendix A. results are tabulated by overall combination of results, public meeting combination of results, Title VI combination of results (includes comments from the Latino Institute, Final Regional Transportation Plan – Input Opportunity Report Page 2 Grand Canyon Minority Business Opportunity Trade Fair and the East Valley Disability Advocacy Group), and by individual meetings. SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS The primary method for outreach conducted during the final input period was six public meetings/hearings that were held in six regional subareas, including a Central, Southwest, Northwest, Surprise/Sun City, Southeast and a Northeast meeting. A total of about 500 Valley residents participated in the six meetings. Because the business community was identified early in the process as one of our key stakeholders, in addition to the public meetings, six business meetings were also held at the same locations prior to each public meeting to provide a specific opportunity for input from Valley employers and other business representatives. We also hosted booths and made presentations to a number of other groups, including targeted outreach to minority and low-income (Title VI) communities. Other input was received via U.S. mail, online and over the telephone. An overwhelming majority of respondents (97%) agreed there is a significant transportation problem in Maricopa County that needs to be addressed. A majority (78%) were aware that the half-cent sales tax passed by voters in 1985 will expire in 2005, resulting in no future regional funding source for transportation improvements in Maricopa County. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the level of improvements identified in the MAG Draft Regional Transportation Plan by mode. A total of 82% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the level of improvements identified in the plan for bus improvements. Approximately 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the level of improvements identified in the plan for freeway improvements. About 69% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the level of improvements identified in the plan for light rail improvements (with nearly half of respondents strongly agreeing), and approximately 85% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the level of improvements identified in the plan for street improvements. When asked if they agreed overall that the elements proposed in the MAG Draft Regional Transportation Plan sufficiently address future transportation needs, 64% agreed with the Plan (27% strongly agreed, 38% agreed), while 24% disagreed, and 9% strongly disagreed. Scientific Telephone Poll Final Regional Transportation Plan – Input Opportunity Report Page 3 In addition to the public input opportunities described in this report, a random-sample telephone poll of 600 registered voters was conducted by Behavior Research Center on behalf of the Transportation Policy Committee in August 2003. The poll indicated that 75 percent of Maricopa County voters would support the extension