Phoenix City Council unanimously approved on Wednesday an Active Transportation Plan that will guide expansion of bike lane miles and improvements to the citywide transportation network. The plan is an update to the city’s Bicycle Master Plan that was approved by City Council in 2014, and connects to the comprehensive Vision Zero Road Safety Action Plan that City Council approved in 2022.
Active transportation is defined as walking, bicycling or rolling, and includes the use of micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters. By designing roadways to be inclusive of those forms of active travel this plan will help improve safety and connectivity, and give people choices about how they move around the community.
A key component to the Active Transportation Plan is a strategy to help Phoenix meet a commitment to add 1,080 new bike lane miles by 2050, which is a benchmark of the Transportation 2050 Plan (T2050) that was approved by voters in 2015.
As outlined in the Active Transportation Plan, the Street Transportation Department will work in each of Phoenix’s urban villages to develop an expanded network of bike lanes. The work will be done with two urban villages per year to create the plan and schedule installation of the bike lanes within two years, and as funding is available. That is anticipated to take approximate 10 years, and the urban villages will be prioritized based on equity and the individual village workload. The process will also identify potential larger projects that would require longer planning timelines and additional funding.
The Active Transportation Plan also includes a reference manual for city staff and consultants about how to design streets for active transportation usage. The manual includes current industry best practices and takes into consideration design challenges that are unique to Phoenix.
To read the complete Active Transportation Plan, and learn more about the Street Transportation Department’s Active Transportation Program, visit Phoenix.gov/Streets/ActiveTransportation.
The Phoenix Street Transportation Department receives $2 million annually in Bicycle Master Plan funding from the Highway Users Revenue Fund, which will be used to implement the Active Transportation Plan.
