Council briefed on Florence Boulevard design concept report; planning commission to hold public hearing

City staff and consultant J2 presented the final draft Florence Boulevard design concept report (DCR) at a study session, describing corridor‑wide streetscape concepts, multimodal facilities and two options for the downtown segment’s lane configuration.

Paul (city staff) said the project began with an Urban Land Institute technical assistance panel, carried through public outreach and a voter‑approved general plan that created a downtown land‑use category extending toward Florence Boulevard. He said the DCR provides two design options for the downtown segment: Option A retains the existing five through‑lane profile (four through lanes plus a continuous left‑turn lane) while Option B would reduce the downtown segment to a three‑lane configuration (one travel lane each way plus a center turn lane) to free pavement for wider sidewalks, separated bike lanes, additional landscaping and roughly 60–70 additional on‑street parking spaces in the downtown core.

Paul summarized the outreach: a city website survey, a steering committee with downtown stakeholders, an open house in December 2022 that drew about 65 attendees and a targeted outreach to downtown property and business owners; those owners raised concerns about whether a three‑lane downtown cross section could handle existing and future traffic. Staff commissioned traffic modeling and reported that a three‑lane configuration could handle anticipated traffic today and in the foreseeable future, but the report leaves both options available for future, segment‑specific civil design and additional public input.

Jeff Vasquez of J2 detailed design elements for three corridor segments: the freeway zone (I‑10 to Hennis), the midtown zone (Hennis to Brown) and the downtown zone (Brown to Arbor). Recommendations include higher roadway lighting with pedestrian‑scale fixtures, stamped asphalt and reflective coatings at intersection crossings, stormwater harvesting planting swales in medians on the freeway segment, separated six‑foot bike lanes with physical separation where right‑of‑way allows, and themed entry monuments near the freeway and the five‑points downtown location that reference the Neon Sign Park.

The DCR also proposes adding lanes from four to six in the freeway segment east of I‑10 to accommodate higher traffic volumes and future development, and recommends starting implementation on the east/freeway segment as the first capital improvement project. Paul told council staff intends to take the DCR to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and recommendation (scheduled Thursday) and then return to council for consideration of adoption on April 7; any construction would require separate civil design, further stakeholder engagement with property owners, and explicit CIP funding approval by council.

Councilmembers expressed differing views. One councilmember said prior public outreach produced strong opposition to narrowing the downtown lanes and predicted renewed public concern; others said they supported starting implementation on the east freeway segment first, highlighted the potential safety and multimodal benefits of a three‑lane downtown option, and raised maintenance and practical concerns about landscaping in Casa Grande’s climate and the needs of truck drivers and seasonal residents. Dwayne Atell (city staff) demonstrated an interactive website prototype for using AI to help collect public input, which staff said will be one tool among several for future segment‑level outreach.

No formal council action was taken at the study session; staff described the DCR as a conceptual guide that will inform future civil design and CIP decisions and emphasized that specific construction would only proceed after further design, outreach and council authorization.