By Laura Douglas / ADOT Communications

You spoke, and we listened. When ADOT turned to the public last fall to tell us what’s most important over the next 25 years, nearly 6,000 people statewide responded through a quick and interactive online survey. Now we have the results of that survey to share with you.

First, a quick recap ...

The survey allowed participants to rank six transportation priorities: preservation, expansion, safety, technology, accessibility, and maintenance and operations. Participants worked with a budget and determined how much of it would go toward each priority. Then they decided on trade-off scenarios that further defined priorities.

And now the results, which show a mixed bag...

Safety, expansion, and maintenance and operations ranked highest, in that order. However, when it comes to allocating funds for those priorities, expansion, preservation, and maintenance and operations got the most dollars, with safety dropping to fourth.

Average Allocation of Funds

Trade-off scenarios showed that participants prefer more roads (expansion), smooth roads (preservation) and connected roads (improved accessibility).

Much like real-world transportation planning, there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to ranking and funding priorities. All survey results will help develop a draft update to ADOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, which will be available for public review later this year.

Please visit azdot.gov/WhatMovesYouArizona to see the full report under the documents tab.

Remember when we first blogged about Arizona ’s Long-Range Transportation Plan?

It’s the plan that’s updated every five years and helps set ADOT’s priorities when it comes to the state’s transportation needs over the next 25 years.

You might also remember that in an effort to get significant feedback about where Arizonans would like to see their transportation dollars spent, ADOT tried something a little different in terms of public involvement.

Steering away from the traditional public meeting route, we launched an extensive outreach campaign – coined What Moves You Arizona – as a coordinated effort to communicate information about the multibillion-dollar gap between the state’s transportation needs over the next 25 years and anticipated revenue.

What Moves You Arizona offered a way to reach out to as many people as possible and give everyone the opportunity to have their voice heard – the opportunity for Arizonans to tell ADOT what was important to them regarding the future of transportation in their state.

Here’s a breakdown of the campaign:

• 12 Meeting-In-a-Box kits requested and distributed.
• 6 e-newsletters with a total distribution of 128,693 sent.
• 3 educational videos created generating 2,720 online views.
• 66 DVD requests fulfilled.
• 86 total newspaper advertisements placed along with spots on 23 radio stations.
• 2,385 surveys completed (an unprecedented response!)

Not only did the outreach efforts generate an unprecedented amount of public input, but the campaign was awarded with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Excel Award – AASHTO’s highest award for public relations programs and campaigns.

The award was announced Tuesday at the National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop (NTPAW) in Iowa! NTPAW is sponsored each year by AASHTO’s subcommittee on transportation communications.

Thanks to the numerous survey responses and the comments made at the workshops, ADOT was able to incorporate all that feedback into the Long-Range Transportation Plan and determine a recommended investment choice and associated performance measures. The final plan is scheduled to be adopted by the State Transportation Board in October and will be released in November.

ADOT appreciates everyone who attended workshops, provided feedback and took the time to complete a survey. Your participation gave Arizonans a voice in shaping our transportation future.

If you haven't yet, be sure to "like" us on Facebook where you can always give us your feedback and input!

Ever try to figure out how ADOT decided to put a freeway where it did? Or why some roads have wider shoulders than others?

Well, none of it happened by accident. ADOT, like most transportation agencies, takes a three-phased approach to transportation decision making: Vision, Planning and Programming.

In Phase One – the Transportation Vision – basically, the sky’s the limit. If money was no object, what would Arizona ’s transportation future look like? No fiscal restraint means everything is on the table.

In 2008 and 2009, ADOT worked with people and organizations throughout the state to develop the transportation vision by reviewing the needs for the next 40 years.  This vision is called “Building a Quality Arizona” and was established with no fiscal constraints. The transportation vision for the state sets the comprehensive foundation for other plans that are fiscally constrained.

The Long-Range Transportation Plan – or Phase Two – must take revenues and funding into account.

This plan looks 20-25 years into the future and identifies the state’s transportation needs while estimating what resources will be available to meet those needs. This is the plan that sets the overall strategic priorities that will guide ADOT’s investments into the future.

According to Arizona law, the Long-Range Transportation Plan must be updated every five years. The next adoption is coming up soon and there’s still time to give us your input. Take a look at the video above to find out about the process.

While the Long-Range Transportation Plan sets priorities, the actual projects are decided in the Five-Year Program (Phase Three). We’ll get more into that process next week. Stay tuned!