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The Mayor and City Council shall hear and discuss a presentation of the Maricopa Association Of Governments (MAG) Hidden Valley Framework Study by Bob Hazlett, Senior Engineering Manager for MAG, followed by a presentation by David R. Maestas, Transportation Planner, on the History and Development of the Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The MAG Hidden Valley Framework Study and resulting Recommendations of 2009 marked an important milestone for Regional Connectivity in Southwestern Maricopa and West Central Pinal Counties. This study, for the first time, depicted the Maricopa area and it's connectivity in all directions. The Hidden Valley Framework Recommendations Map graphically depicts the importance of regional connectivity for Maricopa in the future, demonstrating our close proximity to Maricopa County to the north, Interstate 8 to the south, Casa Grande and Interstate 10 to the east, and the planned Interstate 11 to the west. These potential connections provide the ability to move freight and our residents with ease throughout the region. The connections are critical to Maricopa's sustainability due to the projected regional population of 2.5 million in 2050 and beyond.
The MAG Hidden Valley Framework Study was approved by Maricopa as a voting member of the Central Arizona Association of Governments (CAAG) Regional Council in September 2009. The MAG Regional Council approved the Hidden Valley Framework Study in September 2009. Maricopa was also a funding partner in the MAG Hidden Valley Framework Study.
The Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors appear on the MAG Hidden Valley Framework Recommendations Map to demonstrate the important role these corridors play in providing regional connectivity in the future. The MAG Hidden Valley Study and the resulting Recommendations Map serve as the general conceptual foundation for Maricopa's regional transportation planning efforts. The Val Vista Planning Corridor provides potential high capacity connectivity between the Maricopa Casa Grande Highway (MCGH) (or East West Parkway Corridor) and the planned Interstate 11 freeway. The Anderson Planning Corridor provides potential north-south connectivity between the MCGH and Interstate 8.
The term "Planning Corridor" denotes an area (can be as wide as five miles) through which several alternative roadways could potentially be located. A planning corridor is not a specific alignment that will definitely result in impact to a specific property. To help explain, here is a brief look at the transportation area planning process:
(1) A planning area is identified for study.
(2) Travel demand is analyzed and projected for some future point in time, typically milestones, such as 2020, 2030, 2040.
(3) The projected travel demand is overlaid onto the planning area with east-west and north-south orientation, and is apportioned among the existing roadways deemed most capable of handling the demand.
(4) Existing roadways are then analyzed to see whether each can perform at higher capacities projected due to population growth. In many cases, existing roadways perform poorly for the Level of Service measure (less efficient traffic flow) because most of today's regional roadways were not designed for future travel demand in a rapid growth scenario, such as that projected in the Maricopa region.
(5) Roadway network improvements suggested by this analysis may include widening of existing roadways, or identification of new planning corridors to efficiently serve the future higher travel demand.
(6) Once the planning corridors are identified through the above activities, the process (not the specific alignment) is memorialized by the inclusion on Area Planning Maps. This is the basic process that resulted in the Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors' inclusion on area transportation planning maps.
The Val Vista and Anderson Parkway planning corridors were reviewed and validated for parkway planning corridors during the 2008 Maricopa Regional Transportation Plan Update and again reviewed and validated for inclusion as planning corridors on the MAG Hidden Valley Framework Study Map of 2009. This is the extent to which the Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors have been developed to date.
The next steps will be to further validate the Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors by further studying their viability. With council approval, plans are in place to conduct a deeper study of these two planning corridors in FY15/16, as part of Phase II of the upcoming Regional Transportation Plan 2015 Update. The narrowed list of candidate alternatives will then be presented to the public and stakeholders for comments. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) national standard of notification for public comment is utilized for the public meeting process, through which documentation of topics, attendance and comments can be readily produced and verified. Comments received from agencies, stakeholders or the public are validated and may result in elimination of candidate alternative(s) or the alternative(s) may continue for further refinement. When the alternatives have been narrowed to three candidates, the study may begin a Design Concept Report, (DCR) the process by which all considerations are further analyzed in detail. These include environmental, cultural, community cohesion, utilities, etc. A funding source must be identified during the normal DCR process.
This item is presented by City Manager Gregory Rose.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Mayor and City Council hear and discuss the presentations of the MAG Hidden Valley Framework Study and the Val Vista and Anderson Parkway Planning Corridors.