Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens was among four Arizona mayors invited by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce to address a group on local and statewide transportation needs. Also invited to serve on a mayor’s panel were, from left, Goodyear Mayor James Cavanaugh, Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson, and Tucson Mayor Robert Walkup.

Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens Serves on Greater Phoenix Chamber's Transportation Panel

Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens was among four Arizona mayors invited by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce to address a group on local and statewide transportation needs. Also invited to serve on a mayors’ panel were Goodyear Mayor James Cavanaugh, Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson, and Tucson Mayor Robert Walkup. Cottonwood Public Works Director Tim Costello also attended. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon also made a short appearance during the day-long conference which provided networking opportunities, lectures, and plenary session. Conference participants heard from many transportation experts.

 

Governor Janet Napolitano spoke at the event. Inadequate highway infrastructure creates what Governor Napolitano calls the “time tax.” The Governor has initiated a new effort called Framework Studies. The participants are gathering data and creating statistics and projections showing where people work and live, and addressing environmental issues. The framework studies will provide a plan to help connect people. She is working to accelerate a needs study and identify funding mechanisms for Arizona’s transportation future.

 

President George Bush’s U.S. Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, was the keynote luncheon speaker.

 

Arizona Department of Transportation Director Victor Mendez told the group that existing funding sources are unable to keep pace with Arizona’s transportation needs. ADOT is listening to the public and looking at rural-urban connector services. With the tremendous population growth in Arizona, connecting regions becomes more difficult. Tourism, businesses, products, services and quality of life all suffer when transportation planning and infrastructure don’t keep up.

 

Mendez said that policymakers in Arizona need to be armed with good advice to build consensus about transportation needs. “Through public policy debates there are many different perspectives about Arizona highway infrastructure needs,” Mendez said. “Arizona can’t solve transportation gridlock with political gridlock,” he added.

 

A statewide team is looking at smart growth, tribal involvement, multimodal strategies, open space preservation and wildlife linkages in highway planning models. Mendez asked, “How can we support our economy, how can we improve our construction techniques?” Mendez suggested a mix of investment strategies and concepts for Arizona’s future highway infrastructure.

 

On the panel, Mayor Joens stated that gridlock on Interstate I-17 is one of the biggest issues that negatively impacts northern Arizona residents. “Minimal funding for rural areas is also a huge problem. The $125 million allocated to rural Arizona this budget year does not stretch very far for all of rural Arizona,” she told those attending the conference. Mayor Joens urged cooperation between the urban and rural areas of the state. “We’re all connected,” she stated.

 

The first annual transportation conference was held at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix. “For many years the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce has worked in association with other stakeholders on regional and statewide transportation issues. This conference was a forum for members of the business community, transportation community, city and rural officials and policymakers to discuss and debate a comprehensive statewide transportation plan for Arizona,” according to Todd Sanders, Vice President of Public Affairs and Economic Development for the Great Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.