Our Mission:
To educate the Greater Phoenix community about the benefits of a well-designed and accessible mass transit system, which represents a major component of a balanced regional transportation plan.
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John McNamara, AIA, FAICP, Vice President/Principal, AECOM
Mr. McNamara is a Vice President/Principal with AECOM in Phoenix, AZ, serves as the firm’s National Planning Technical Excellence Manager, and has over 37 years of experience working in multimodal transportation, community planning, economic development, and urban design. He is a nationally recognized expert in the planning and design of high capacity transit and rail systems, and specializes in the land use inter-relationships with such investments, including devising strategies to address regional urban form, growth management and community revitalization. His work focuses on working with public officials, community groups and major land owners/asset managers to plan and develop communities that exhibit the principles of smart growth, mixed land use, environmental sustainability, multi-modal circulation and quality of life. Mr. McNamara was recently honored with the 2008 Arizona APA Historic Planning Pioneer Award.

His major urban multimodal transportation and regional planning experience includes the MAG Urban Form Study (APA Best Project Award–1995) and Regional Transportation Vision and Plan–2050 (APA/FHWA Transportation Excellence Award–2006); the Tampa/Hillsborough County, Florida Regional Mobility Study and the AA/EIS Preliminary Engineering for Phase 1 LRT (Hillsborough County Planning Commission Award of Excellence–1998, APTA First Place Award for Transit Advocacy–1998); the Central Phoenix/East Valley LRT Starter Corridor Location Study and Preliminary Engineering/EIS; and the Grand Rapids, Michigan Regional High Capacity Transit MIS. Most recently, Mr. McNamara served as Planning Manager for the SR 179 Corridor Development Project in Sedona (ITE Best Transportation Planning Project Worldwide–2005), and as Project Director for the MAG Interstate 10/Hassayampa Valley Transportation Framework Study, the MAG Interstates 8 and 10/Hidden Valley Transportation Framework Study, the MAG bqAZ Statewide Intrastate Mobility Reconnaissance Study, and for the bqAZ Statewide Transportation Planning Framework Program, including the Statewide Rail Framework Study, for ADOT. Mr. McNamara also has an extensive community planning background, having prepared over two dozen general, comprehensive, redevelopment, and neighborhood revitalization plans in Arizona, and most recently serving as strategic planner on the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan, Gila River Indian Community Seven Districts Master Plan, and Buckeye General Plan (APA Best Community Plan Award--2007). He was awarded the Arizona APA’s Historic Planning Pioneer Award in 2008.

Mr. McNamara recently served as Project Director for the ambitious planning process to develop Arizona’s multimodal transportation vision for 2050, the Statewide Transportation Planning Framework Program. This effort included the formulation of the Statewide Rail Framework Study, the 40-year rail vision for the state, with specific elements of commuter, intercity, and high-speed passenger rail, and a comprehensive program of related freight rail improvement strategies. Mr. McNamara has significant experience in AA/EA or AA/EIS processes for numerous rail and roadway projects, including the Tampa, FL Regional Rail Program, Central Phoenix/East Valley LRT Project, SR 179 Corridor Development Program, and the SR 802 – Williams Gateway Freeway.

Currently, he is serving as Principal-in-Charge of the Arizona State Rail Plan. Mr. McNamara has received numerous awards and citations for his work across the United States, with specific emphasis on context sensitivity, sustainable urban form, and transit-oriented development.
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