Transportation Planners Want to Know Where People are Going

“This is the first time in the Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CYMPO) 20 years that we are doing an active transportation plan,” said CYMPO Executive Director Vincent Gallegos. “It will help the city, towns and county prioritize local and regional bike and pedestrian projects. It will also help bring in grant funding to pay for these much-needed projects.”

Since last summer, CYMPO has been serving as the lead agency in the development of the Central Yavapai Active Community Transportation-Unified Plan (ACT-UP). Now, CYMPO is asking the public to participate in a survey about how they are getting around the region, to assist in further planning for the future.   

(ACT-UP) was initiated to help develop a nonmotorized transportation network that links communities, provides travel options and supports broader regional health, mobility and equity goals. Working with local jurisdictions, the ATP will help improve, expand and connect the region’s active transportation system.

“We have a survey currently live that asks just a handful of simple questions about how people are getting around the region and what they’d like to see in the way of bicycle and pedestrian improvements,” said CYMPO Planner Bryn Stotler. “Think not just bike lanes or better pavement delineation, but signalized mid-block pedestrian crossings on busy thoroughfares, safer access for students get to their school campuses in that one-mile walking/biking radius and more logical connections to our growing local transit systems.”

ACT-UP will inventory existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the CYMPO planning area, which is essentially the Quad Cities area; identify where bicyclists and pedestrians are originating from and going to in their movements about the region, to determine where new or improved bicycle or pedestrian facilities might benefit those opting for these transportation modes; begin to identify a regional network for connecting these bicycle/pedestrian facilities to and from activity centers (popular destinations), connections to transit, school campuses and recreational facilities; and develop a list of prioritized bicycle-pedestrian improvements that are “low hanging fruit” for grant applications to the many federal programs that support these types of transportation choices.

The plan will focus primarily on bicycle-pedestrian facilities, but will also identify where people using these modes of transportation are mostly traveling to and from. Active transportation, by definition, includes improved access to public transportation of all types and increasing transportation choices. 

“We also have some equestrians interested in the plan, and of course hikers and mountain bikers that use any established roadways, multi-use paths, or trails in the pursuit of their hobbies are all part of active transportation,” Stotler said.

In May 2022, the Town of Prescott Valley, City of Prescott and Yavapai County entered into a historic intergovernmental agreement to purchase approximately 3,500 acres of State Trust Land on and around Glassford Hill. CYMPO is in ongoing conversations with the partners who purchased this open space, which will become the Glassford Dells Regional Park. “While we don’t have specific involvement in the current planning of park facilities,” said Stotler, “CYMPO is always standing by to partner with local jurisdictions in creating improved and more diverse access to our regional assets such as our incredible scenic parks, trails and recreation facilities.” QCBN

By Heidi Dahms Foster

The ACT-UP survey can be found at CYMPO.org/actup.

For more information about ACT-UP and other local transportation planning, visit www.cympo.org.

Photo by Kay Lyons: Adeline Pettis enjoys hiking with her dog near Prescott Valley.