Metro Phoenix Transit/Transportation Developments

[combusean]

The city is going to do what it wants regardless of what voters were promised. The 2004 map has seen three LRT extensions cancelled or indefinitely delayed so whatever the hell they sold to voters in 2015 is just as nebulous.

It wouldn't surprise me if they just jammed the 2015 map with transit improvements to pass muster but are going to end up spending nearly all of it on road improvements. I'm sure they'll eventually get around to making 35th/Van Buren a corridor but 70 total miles may as well be planned (not built) with change from the Prop 479 couch cushions and pixie dust and most of us will be dead of old age if they do even that.

I would vote with your feet to a different city if you care that much, Phoenix just isn't serious about transit.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Dale

Please tell me if I have this right and I'm sorry if I've missed pertinent information ...

The city passed a 35 years transit plan, in 2015, to include 75 miles of BRT.

And the initial BRT line will only be completed in 2030?

It reminds me of the cliche "The food is terrible! And such small portions!"

I'm not a fan of BRT because it is often misused an allegedly cheaper but inferior alternative to rail, but it's still frustrating to see it proceeding at such a slow pace. I'd rather see Phoenix build BRT only in places where high capacity transit might be warranted but rail is not currently feasible (e.g. Bell Road) and reallocate the rest of the BRT funds to towards across-the-board improvements in bus service throughout the city, not to mention any light rail projects that can actually move forward.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by Dale

Please tell me if I have this right and I'm sorry if I've missed pertinent information ...

The city passed a 35 years transit plan, in 2015, to include 75 miles of BRT.

And the initial BRT line will only be completed in 2030?

No, they didn't built BRT here in Phoenix. I don't believe it. I don't think they ever consider it. It's not possible to have BRT. So IDK.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by N830MH

No, they didn't built BRT here in Phoenix. I don't believe it. I don't think they ever consider it. It's not possible to have BRT. So IDK.

For better or worse, BRT has long been touted as part of the city's transportation plan. There's a whole site devoted to it called "Meet Phoenix BRT." The complication is that we've been "meeting" it for years, but no BRT has actually been built.

https://meetphoenixbrt.com/

[muertecaza]

Construction is underway to close one of the gaps in in the MUP canal network by connecting the lake path with the Grand Canal path near Marquee Theatre. It's an annoying break in the path and a welcome fix.

https://www.yourvalley.net/tempe-independent/stories/grand-canal-pathway-project-update,686057

Does anyone know anything new about the upstream bridge project?

https://www.tempe.gov/government/transpo...-pedestrian/upstream-dam-bike-ped-bridge

Tempe apparently got $25m in federal funding in 2025 but I haven't heard anything since.

[azsunsurfer]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Construction is underway to close one of the gaps in in the MUP canal network by connecting the lake path with the Grand Canal path near Marquee Theatre. It's an annoying break in the path and a welcome fix.

https://www.yourvalley.net/tempe-independent/stories/grand-canal-pathway-project-update,686057

Does anyone know anything new about the upstream bridge project?

https://www.tempe.gov/government/transpo...-pedestrian/upstream-dam-bike-ped-bridge

Tempe apparently got $25m in federal funding in 2025 but I haven't heard anything since.

Probably looking for the 20% in their budget that they are responsible for funding in order for the Grant funds to be released?

[builder03]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Construction is underway to close one of the gaps in in the MUP canal network by connecting the lake path with the Grand Canal path near Marquee Theatre. It's an annoying break in the path and a welcome fix.

https://www.yourvalley.net/tempe-independent/stories/grand-canal-pathway-project-update,686057

Does anyone know anything new about the upstream bridge project?

https://www.tempe.gov/government/transpo...-pedestrian/upstream-dam-bike-ped-bridge

Tempe apparently got $25m in federal funding in 2025 but I haven't heard anything since.

I've asked the transportation department about this multiple times and they have told me that the federal funding is in limbo due to the Trump administration's withholding of funds for projects that support alternate modes of transportation. I guess walking and biking is too "woke"

https://stanton.house.gov/2025/3/stanton...ke-pedestrian-and-ev-projects-in-arizona

According to Politico, the guidance instructs staff that competitive grants from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2025 whose funds haven't been fully obligated are subject to review for compliance with the Trump administration's priorities, suggesting that those projects' federal funds could be in jeopardy if they aren't. Projects in Arizona’s Fourth District that could be impacted include:

$25 million awarded to Tempe under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in January of 2025 for the Upstream Dam Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge;
$15 million awarded to Phoenix in January of 2025 for EV charging;
$11.8 million awarded to Mesa in January of 2024 for EV charging;
and $25 million awarded to Phoenix in 2022 for the Rio Salado Bike/Pedestrian Bridge.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by builder03

I've asked the transportation department about this multiple times and they have told me that the federal funding is in limbo due to the Trump administration's withholding of funds for projects that support alternate modes of transportation. I guess walking and biking is too "woke"

https://stanton.house.gov/2025/3/stanton...ke-pedestrian-and-ev-projects-in-arizona

Thanks for the info! That's rough. I'd be willing to call it Barron's Bridge if that gets it done....