Title
Phoenix Bus Rapid Transit Program Update - 35th Avenue - Preferred Corridor Alignment - Districts 1, 4, 5, and 7
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee with information on the Bus Rapid Transit Program’s Phase III Community and Business Engagement results, and the community’s preferred corridor alignment option (center-running) on 35th Avenue.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
Report
Summary
In 2015, Phoenix voters approved Proposition 104, creating the 35-year street and transit plan known as Transportation 2050 (T2050). This plan identified Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a key component to continue expanding the City’s high-capacity transit network. BRT is a high-capacity bus service that focuses on improved speed, reliability, convenience, and overall transit experience. There are common recurring elements found in successful BRT systems, such as advanced fare collection, enhanced stations, dedicated lanes, custom buses, transit signal priority to improve traffic flow, and unique branding.
Based on a robust technical analysis and community education and engagement efforts, the initial BRT corridor of 35th Avenue / Van Buren Street was approved in October 2021.
Before designing the corridor, determining how it will operate in the roadway needs to first be established. To help answer this question, in Spring 2025, the Phoenix BRT Program conducted Phase III Community and Business Engagement along 35th Avenue. Engagement efforts focused on two alignment options (Attachment A): a fully dedicated side-running corridor and a fully dedicated center-running corridor on 35th Avenue. Between February 17 and April 10, 2025, the BRT Program hosted in-person community workshops, in-person business-focused workshops, and pop-up events, and also launched an online meeting tool and survey on MeetPhoenixBRT.com. All outreach materials were provided in English and Spanish. Meetings were also offered to residents, community organizations, and business owners to discuss the corridor’s elements relative to the two options provided.
In addition, to promote public outreach activities and events, the team utilized multiple notification tools including:
- Direct mail to residents and businesses within ¼-mile of the BRT corridor, including off-site property owners.
- Transit bus posters, bus stop posters, and Light Rail kiosk posters.
- Email notifications to stakeholders.
- Blog posts and web updates.
- Social media.
- News releases.
- Targeted digital ads.
- Phoenix water bill inserts.
- Door hangers.
- Ads on English and Spanish radio stations.
- Spanish print ads.
To supplement the outreach efforts, a third-party team of community activators, Novle, canvassed businesses along 35th Avenue throughout the Phase III Community and Business Engagement to garner business feedback on the BRT lane options.
The BRT Program launched an intensive survey effort to gather public input on the two fully dedicated lane options. The survey received a total of 552 responses, including 88 from business owners and 464 from community members. Center-running BRT was the most preferred choice among overall respondents. Survey results and detailed engagement efforts can be found in the BRT Phase III Alternatives Analysis Community Engagement Summary (Attachment B).
BRT Program Next Steps
- Work on 15 percent design plans for center-running BRT on 35th Avenue.
- Prepare efforts for the next round of Phase IV Community and Business Engagement for Van Buren Street in Fall 2025.
- Continue coordination and design efforts with ongoing and correlating projects along the corridor.
- Continue business canvassing, with Novle, along 35th Avenue and Van Buren Street to provide BRT education and continue checking in with businesses and property owners.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Interim Deputy City Manager Amber Williamson and the Public Transit Department.