(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County who have worked to bring new transportation infrastructure to the region.)
By Mark Cowling | Pinal Central
FLORENCE — Arizona State University’s Decision Theater, a high-level decision-making process that aims for optimal outcomes for all parties, was touted as a way to develop a new long-range transportation plan last week before the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.
DT’s collaborative research methodology, which has been evolving for 20 years, simultaneously weighs a variety of factors in developing a plan or solving a problem. Seven screens monitor different aspects of an issue, and a change made on one screen shows its effects on the other screens, Chelsea Dickson, DT’s director of strategy and impact, told the board on May 14.
Users can see the ripple effects of an extra lane on a highway or a completely new highway, including its effects on economic development, emergency routes, supply chains, air quality and other environmental impacts. If they wish, users can develop a model of roadways that will be needed in 30 years, Dickson said.
