Pedestrian Plan 2000 (Final Report)

Author(s):

Maricopa Association of Governments

Organization:

Maricopa Association of Governments

Publisher/Date:

Maricopa Association of Governments, Phoenix, AZ, 1999

Rating:

Limited Usefulness

Abstract:

The purpose of the MAG Pedestrian Plan 2000 is to identify and recommend programs and actions that guide and encourage the development of pedestrian areas and facilities and ultimately increase walking as a viable mode of transportation throughout the Region. The Pedestrian Working Group developed five broad goal categories as follows:

• Land Use -- Goal 1: Promote and guide land use that is conducive to pedestrians and results in a mode shift away from automobiles and towards pedestrians.
  • Objective 1.1. Provide and maintain a safe, convenient and enjoyable walking environment that responds to the varied needs of a diverse walking population.
  • Objective 1.2. Incorporate the MAG Pedestrian Area Policies and Design Guidelines into policies, street and development standards to provide safe, convenient and enjoyable walking.
  • Objective 1.3. Promote and foster coordination between jurisdictions in the planning and implementation of bicycle, trails, transit, pedestrian and other alternative transportation modes.
• Public Awareness -- Goal II Develop a variety of educational programs to promote the benefits of pedestrian-oriented design. Initiate demonstration projects to illustrate these benefits using potential pedestrian demand and pedestrian design techniques.
  • Objective 2.1. Construct facilities that demonstrate successful pedestrian design.
  • Objective 2.2. Conduct public education and involvement campaigns to assist and encourage people to walk.
  • Objective 2.3. Promote workplace walking incentive programs.
  • Objective 2.4. Distribute the MAG Pedestrian Area Policies and Design Guidelines to a broader audience.
  • Objective 2.5. Improve motorists' understanding of the need to share the roadway with non-motorized travelers, especially at intersections and crosswalks.
  • Objective 2.6. Implement pedestrian safety education programs to improve observance of traffic laws, and to promote safety for pedestrians of all ages.
  • Objective 2.7. Distribute the Pedestrian Plan 2000 to a broad audience.
• Funding -- Goal 3: Provide funding for pedestrian facility development that results in walking as a key form of transportation in the region.
  • Objective 3.1. Provide dedicated and on-going pedestrian funding sources to ensure the construction of pedestrian areas and facilities.
  • Objective 3.2. Identify and encourage funding to fully integrate pedestrian projects and programs in all transportation and development projects.
  • Objective 3.3. Provide a staff position at the local level to oversee pedestrian programs and facilities to maximize pedestrian potential in all planning and development projects.
  • Objective 3.4. Evaluate proposed pedestrian projects using the objective criteria developed in this Plan (e.g. the Latent Demand and the Roadside Pedestrian Conditions Models) to help gauge how the projects will meet potential pedestrian travel demand and to what extent the proposed projects will improve walking conditions.
  • Objective 3.5. Promote the benefits of pedestrian projects and remove barriers to their acceptance through the funding of demonstration projects.
  • Objective 3.6. Publicize and market successful existing pedestrian areas and projects in order to support increased funding.
• Design for People -- Goal 4: Develop, build and maintain a diversity of pedestrian facilities that recognize the region's character, variety and intensity of land use patterns, and is responsive to the region's diverse population.
  • Objective 4.1. Build new pedestrian facilities that accommodate the needs of all types of pedestrians in new developments and retrofit existing areas to accommodate pedestrians.
• Linkage -- Goal 5: Provide a regional pedestrian network that identifies and safely links on- and off-street transportation modes with pedestrian areas and destinations.
  • Objective 5.1. Integrate appropriate pedestrian facilities into all levels of planning, design, construction and maintenance activities relative to transportation as defined by design performance guidelines in the MAG Pedestrian Plan 2000.
  • Objective 5.2. Link primarily transportation related pedestrian facilities to other pedestrian support facilities, such as urban trails, bicycle facilities, pathways, etc.
  • Objective 5.3. Include pedestrian needs in regional and local trail and bicycle plans.
  • Objective 5.4. Use pedestrian linkages to transit to maximize connections between origins and destinations.
  • Objective 5.5. Include a pedestrian element in all local General Plans.

Number of Pages:

24

Link:

Pedestrian Plan 2000 - Final Report (PDF) (http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/pdf/cms.resource/ped-plan2000sum-web_427.pdf)

Table of Contents?

No

Illustrations?

Yes

Material Type:

Report

Key Document?

No

Categories:

Regional Policy, Planning

Keywords:

Phoenix - Local, Pedestrian Planning, Walkability

Strengths:

• Well defined objective-oriented goals.
• Specifically addresses ADA compliance requirements.
• Incorporates data in the form of pedestrian demand modelling into the plan.
• Emphasis given to performance guidelines.
• Data table available to determine amount of space to allocate to pedestrians.
• Encourages flexibility in design yet maintains requirement to design to pedestrian Level of Service standards.
• Includes a detailed GANT diagram of implementation timeline / action plan.

Weaknesses:

Does not focus on design details; poor connection to the 1995 Pedestrian Area Policies and Design Guidelines (www.mag.maricopa.gov/main/download.asp?item=4906).

Record Last Updated:

July 2006