Why Isn’t Phoenix Funding the Projects That Matter?

The Truth About Transportation 2050 and the Fight for Safer, More Livable Streets.

In 2015, Phoenix voters did something visionary: they passed Proposition 104, a massive 35-year sales tax plan called Transportation 2050 (T2050). The promise? A more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly city.

Ten years later, it’s time we ask: Why are key projects still waiting for funding? Why are we told there's no money for safer crosswalks, safe and connected bike lanes, or street revitalization projects (aka “road diets”) while car-focused projects cruise ahead?

The truth is: it’s not a lack of money. It’s a lack of political will.

What Is T2050?

Transportation 2050 is funded by a 0.7% sales tax (in effect through 2050) and is expected to generate over $16.7 billion, with additional federal and regional dollars added on top. It was designed to:

• Expand bus and light rail

• Improve street maintenance

• Build bike lanes, sidewalks, and ADA ramps

• Add safety features like HAWK pedestrian crossings and high-visibility crosswalks

You can read the original proposition here (PDF).

So, Where’s the Funding Going?

Enhanced Option E shows the kind of changes that are proposed for McDowell Road, with the inclusion of bike lane protections and trees

Much of it is going toward big-ticket transit and road maintenance projects, but active transportation and safety investments are consistently sidelined. Projects like:

1. McDowell Road Revitalization

   Between 7th Street and SR-51, McDowell is dangerous and outdated. Community members helped shape a plan (Enhanced Option E) with protected bike lanes, more shade, and traffic calming. But despite MAG funding the study, Phoenix hasn’t committed T2050 dollars for construction. Read more about the McDowell Road project.

2. 3rd Street Bike Lane Extension

   Currently, there’s a buffered protected bike lane on 3rd Street, but it stops at Roosevelt. The key connection through downtown to Lincoln Street remains unfinished. The city claims there’s no funding. But this is a high-priority connection, and it’s shovel-ready.

   • Sign our petition to get bike lanes added to 3rd Street downtown.

3. High-Visibility Crosswalks and HAWK Signals

   Despite years of advocacy, dangerous intersections and corridors, primarily in West Phoenix, still lack safety countermeasures such as high-visibility crosswalk striping or HAWK beacons—even where kids walk to school or wait for the bus. These are proven life-saving tools:

   • HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK) signals have been shown by the Federal Highway Administration to reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 69% and total crashes by 29%.
     Source: FHWA Safety Report No. FHWA-HRT-10-042

   • High-visibility crosswalks, especially ladder or continental style, reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 40% compared to standard two-stripe markings.
     Source: FHWA Making Our Roads Safer

T2050 is eligible to fund both. So why aren’t these basic safety measures in place citywide and fully funded?

Red Flags You Should Know About

City staff have said time and again: “We don’t have the money.” But the problem is not a shortage of cash—it’s that many City Council members and staff prioritize car travel, even when it puts lives at risk.

Some red flags:

• Projects in lower-income or minority neighborhoods get delayed or defunded, while downtown and North Phoenix see faster improvements.

• The City’s Vision Zero goals are often undermined by other priorities.

• Protected bike lanes are rejected in favor of preserving car capacity, even when data shows protected lanes are safer and better for local businesses. 

Phoenix’s own Mobility Improvements Program says we should be building over 1,000 miles of sidewalks and bike lanes with T2050 funds. But we’re not even close to that pace, and many West Phoenix areas that have extreme risks according to Phoenix’s High Injury Network, are not covered by T2050 Funding under the Equity Based Transportation Mobility Program (EBTM).

Read more about Phoenix's Equity-Based Transportation Mobility (EBTM) Program and goals.

What Needs to Change

This isn’t about waiting for more studies. We already know what works. What we need is for Phoenix to:

• Reprioritize underfunded projects like High Injury Network needs, McDowell, and 3rd Street

• Dedicate a minimum % of T2050 to walking and biking every year

• Stop funding road widenings that make our streets deadlier

• Listen to residents who walk, bike, and ride transit every day

The community has done its part—speaking up, attending meetings, completing community surveys, and again, more community surveys for the same project. Now it’s time for our elected officials to fund what they promised.

Take Action

Want to help get these projects moving?

• Email your City Council member and ask why high-visibility crosswalks are not funded city-wide and why McDowell and 3rd Street remain unfunded.

• Attend a Citizens Transportation Commission meeting and give public comment.

• Share this post and help others understand how T2050 funds are being used—and misused.

Phoenix can still live up to the promise of T2050. But only if we fight for it.

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