The Town Council has unanimously approved an Active Transportation Plan for the Town of Fountain Hills. The plan provides staff and officials with a long-range blueprint for development of non-vehicular transportation amenities for the community.

J2 Consultants and staff have been working since late last summer on the plan which covers primarily pedestrian and bicycle options for the town. Staff also coordinated the effort with the development of the Community Services Master Plan.

John Wesley, Development Services director for the town, outlined the objectives in his report to the council presented on June 15.

“As the town has grown, citizens have seen the need to provide for safe and efficient means for walking and biking in the community,” Wesley said. “Staff has had a sidewalk plan for several years; this plan has been used to make incremental improvement to the sidewalk system over time.”

Limited funding options have made the sidewalk infill a slow process, but staff has used grants to close some of the gaps in sidewalks downtown.

To provide for the comprehensive plan and obtain a tool for budgeting and applying for grants, staff used a Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) grant to hire the consultant (J2) to prepare the town’s first Active Transportation Plan.

J2 used an outreach process to obtain citizen and stakeholder input with regard to the plan. Citizen engagement included two online input sessions and an online survey in which dozens participated.

Through the public process, citizens indicated they desired improvements to include:

*An increase in designated crosswalks.

*Education material for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists to improve safety.

*Filling sidewalk gaps to create a complete network of sidewalks and pathways.

*Consistency in pavement markings for bicyclists.

*Options for warning systems at key road crossing in high traffic areas.

The final plan includes an introductory section including purpose and vision statements.

Section two provides an inventory of the existing non-vehicular system, as well as the key elements needing to be connected such as schools, parks, business districts and churches.

Section three establishes the implementation options and priorities.

For sidewalk improvement, a four-tier priority approach was developed to provide a flexible approach to address the needs identified by citizens. Top priorities include sidewalk infill.

The emphasis for bicycles focuses on closing several gaps along Fountain Hills Blvd. and consistently applying the standards for traffic control devices, signage and striping protocols related to existing bike lanes.

This section also includes comprehensive maps of recommended improvement areas. To the extent possible the plan recommends improvements be made within the existing right-of-way, sometimes by narrowing the pavement area of an existing street.

The appendix to the plan provides the detailed responses to surveys and comments and examples of educational material to distribute to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

The plan will provide staff with information needed to prepare cost estimates, refine options to include in annual budgeting and Capital Improvement Plans and provide information helpful in applying for grant funding.

The Final Active Transportation Plan is available to read on the Town of Fountain Hills website, fh.az.gov.