East Valley cities are using technology to their advantage. Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Queen Creek offer apps that are aimed towards public safety, things to do and city services. Check out this article to learn what apps are available and how they can benefit you!
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/money/article_60b2fb62-d87c-11e2-bf42-001a4bcf887a.html
By Steve Johnson, Public Information Officer, Bullhead City
The biggest festival in Bullhead City for the past seven years is the River Regatta in August, a nine-mile float down the Colorado River. It began in 2007 when about 900 people on inner tubes and rafts set off from Community Park and floated down to Rotary Park. In 2012, 27,000 people joined the Bullhead City Regatta!
The event requires a lot of support from the city, community and businesses. Local department stores, sporting goods stores, even hardware stores– that might not otherwise carry watercraft — offer tubes, rafts and life-jackets for this annual festival on the water.
Competition: teams, inspired by a different theme each year, create floats as wild as their imagination and as big as a bundle of inner tubes or Styrofoam will take them, compete for cash prizes and trophies. Over the years, the Colorado River has carried grass huts, birthday cakes, huge floating alligators, even pirate ships along its cool, rippling currents under the August desert sun.
Riverside residents are also encouraged to compete by decorating their homes and cheering on the floaters, many of whom are visitors from around the country.
Bullhead City River Regatta participants fill hotels, restaurants and stores, infusing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy during the weekend event.
Regatta revelers hold parties and cheer on floaters
Thousands prepare to launch from Community Park
Social Media is becoming an essential skill in business and life. Read this article, published in the Phoenix Business Journal, showcasing the efforts of Arizona cities joining communities worldwide to celebrate the 4th Annual Social Media Day.
Great things to look forward to in the city of Tempe and the city of Chandler. There are two articles below featuring future economic development plans for each city. Read how these developments will impact their communities and create more opportunities for citizens.
http://www.tempe.gov/index.aspx?recordid=1519&page=31
http://www.chandleraz.gov/newsrelease.aspx?N_UID=2547
Posted below is an article recognizing Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and how he will assume the office of president of the United States Conference of Mayors. He is the first Arizona mayor to lead the organization! Very exciting news for the city of Mesa and the state of Arizona.
How does your city help you? Watch The League of Arizona Cities and Town’s Communication and Education Director, Matt Lore, talk about the many different services and programs that are available through your city.
Click the link below to learn more:
Check out Maricopa in Motion on Fox10 this morning!
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/category/235505/corys-corner.
Just another example of your Arizona Cities @ Work.
The Payson Community Garden is a great example of an innovative idea from a local government at work for its residents. Started as a way to help citizens learn about water conservation while growing their own food, the Payson garden is now more than 4 acres large and rents up to 165 plots. The town of Payson partners with both private nurseries as well as the University of Arizona extension to offer a complete set of instruction courses for beginner gardeners.
The town asks that each plot donate 20 percent of their yield to the local food banks. Last year, more than 50 percent of the yield was donated to the local food banks.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.paysonroundup.com/search/vertical/news.story/?q=community%20garden
By R. J. Zeder, Chandler Transportation & Development Director
Chandler recently held its popular Family Bike Ride led by Mayor Jay Tibshraeny and several members of our City Council.
The annual event provides families with a great opportunity to get a little exercise and celebrate bicycling for recreation and as a way to replace automobile trips for commuting to work, school and other short trips.
For a number of years now, Chandler has been investing in infrastructure improvements that accommodate or encourage bicycling and has been recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.
We recently constructed bike/pedestrian crossing signals at several arterial streets along our Paseo Trail in southeast Chandler and along our Western Canal Shared-Use Path in north Chandler. We also completed in November a major street reconstruction project near our mall at Chandler Boulevard and Price Road that added bike lanes beneath the Loop 101 Price Freeway.
In addition, construction has begun on a bike/pedestrian bridge that will cross the Price Freeway at Galveston Street, north of Chandler Blvd. This bridge will link bicycle paths on collector streets on both sides of the freeway, allowing for more access to parks, schools, employment and shopping centers. The project is administered and managed by the Arizona Department of Transportation and funded by a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant.
Bicyclists also are taking advantage of Chandler’s Park & Ride lot adjacent to Tumbleweed Park. Bike riders can connect to an Express Bus which leaves from the lot each weekday morning and travel to downtown Phoenix or catch the LINK bus which runs every day and travels along Arizona Avenue/Country Club Drive to connect to light rail. Riders can utilize the bike lockers at the lot or the bike racks on the bus.
Chandler also is involved in regional efforts to improve conditions for bicycling. City transit planners are participating in a Maricopa Association of Government’s Bicycle Counts project that will collect bicycle counts at a number of locations throughout the valley to better understand how bike routes and facilities are performing, what patterns exist, why trips are made and whether safety improvements are needed.
With the support of its citizens, Chandler will continue to develop the city’s bicycle system while striving to provide maximum safety, convenience, and comfort for bicyclists of all ages.
Great article on how the city of Phoenix is utilizing volunteers and engaging the community in its sustainability efforts.