Environmental Assessment

fully built-out, land-locked city. Tempe can only satisfy the forecast growth in populationand employment by growing vertically.Downtown Tempe’s continued population and employment growth has contributed to ahigh trip demand to and within the study area corridors. The intensification ofneighboring land areas over time has also led to a growing number of intra-corridortrips, with increasingly heavy volumes of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. In response tothe exponential growth in demand in the study area, Tempe identified the need for anefficient, safe and reliable transit solution to ensure Downtown Tempe retains its statusas an economic engine for both the city and the region. Several high-rise developmentshave been constructed, are under construction, or are being planned in DowntownTempe and along the Apache Boulevard and Rio Salado Parkway corridors. These newdevelopments will bring an additional 7.6 million square feet (sf) of office, residential,retail and hotel space to the study area.According to an analysis of MAG forecast data, the greater Phoenix region’s populationis expected to increase by over two million people by 2035, with Tempe assumingapproximately 3.2 percent of this growth despite accounting for just 1.8 percent of theregion’s total land area. Specifically, Tempe anticipates a growth of 65,000 people andan additional 19,000 housing units by the year 2035. Roughly 40 percent of this growthin both population and housing units is expected to occur within a half mile of theproposed streetcar alignment. Accompanying this growth in residential population is aprojected growth in employment, particularly in the downtown core. By the year 2035,employment in Tempe is expected to grow by 44,000, with 52 percent of the growthoccurring within a half mile of the proposed streetcar alignment. This surge in populationand employment growth will undoubtedly lead to increased demand for daily trips. WhileDowntown Tempe is served by a variety of transportation modes, the existingtransportation network is currently operating near design capacity. Downtown streetsfrequently experience congested traffic conditions that increase travel delays, restraintransit performance, create safety challenges and affect Tempe’s economic growthpotential. As a major economic engine of the region, Tempe’s continued growth willincreasingly restrict mobility to, within and through Downtown Tempe withoutimplementation of the proposed Build Alternative.Over half of the households in Tempe are car-lite (own one car or fewer) (Source:American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2008-2012). This percentage isexpected to increase in the future, especially given policies planned for both Tempe andASU that will reduce the number of parking spaces available. Therefore, a reliable andexpedient transit option is needed to provide these households with access to jobs,health care, education, shopping and entertainment.1.2.2 Improving Local and Regional Mobility, Especially during Peak TravelTimesTraffic conditions in the study area are anticipated to worsen by 2035, especially duringpeak travel times. The City of Tempe predicts traffic volumes along most of the majorEnvironmental Assessment Page 1-4 July 2015Tempe Streetcar