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Tempe receives award for clean air efforts

TEMPE, Ariz.- The city of Tempe Transportation Program, Tempe in Motion, received the Maricopa Association of Governments Livable Communities Award from the Clean Air Campaign on Oct. 28. The Clean Air Awards recognize the best clean air and alternative transportation programs in Maricopa County.

The city received the award for its comprehensive transportation program. The goal of the program is to encourage residents to ride the bus, bike, or walk in order to reduce the air pollution and traffic congestion problems.  Tempe in Motion provides light rail, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities and encourages getting around Tempe in anything but a car.  Since the passage of the city's 1996 transit sales tax, Tempe has: added bus service, implemented five free neighborhood circulator routes, created an alternatively-fueled fleet, constructed light rail, built bikeways, constructed two "green" buildings and implemented neighborhood pedestrian facilities.

Tempe is committed to constructing innovative projects that provide alternative modes of transportation to improve air quality and decrease traffic congestion. Tempe is also actively supporting the construction of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings in its community including the East Valley Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility and the Tempe Transportation Center.

 For information, call (480) 350-2775

Upcoming events at Tempe Town Lake

Saturday, November 1:

Walk to Cure Diabetes, 9am - 1pm: This walk will go along College Ave and Gilbert Dr. so it will affect access to Boat Beach/Op Center as well as the Marina. The only way to access the marina will be from the east on Scottsdale/Rural turning west on Gilbert and driving to the marina.

The 202 Scottsdale/Rural exit will be closed on the eastbound side, but it will be open on the westbound side. Curry east from Mill to College will be closed, however Curry west will be open. Exiting the marina will only be College northbound to Curry.

Access to Boat Beach will only be from the west, Washington to Lakeview Dr (west) into the Parking lot.

Sunday, November 2:

Walk Now for Autism, 9:45am - 1:00pm: Traffic Impact and access will be the same as the Diabetes Walk.

Splash and Dash, 7:30 - 9:00am: North side of the lake from the marina to Mill Ave. Swim Course will be buoyed off. Please stay outside of the buoys. Rowers/paddlers please give a wide berth at the buoys b/c sometimes the swimmers get out of the safety zone.

Marina parking will be impacted so it may be smart to use Papago Park parking if you can't find a spot at the marina.

Saturday and Sunday, November 8 and 9:

Saturday, Nov. 8: There are no boating events so the lake will be free and clear.

Walk for Breast Cancer: This walk will go along College Ave and Gilbert Dr. so it will affect access to Boat Beach/Op Center as well as the Marina. The only way to access the marina will be from the east on Scottsdale/Rural turning west on Gilbert and driving to the marina. The

202 Scottsdale/Rural exit will be closed on the eastbound side, but it will be open on the westbound side. Curry east from Mill to College will be closed, however Curry west will be open. Exiting the marina will only be College northbound to Curry.

Access to Boat Beach will only be from the west, Washington to Lakeview Dr (west) into the Parking lot.

Sunday, Nov. 9:

Open Water Swim (2.4 miles), 10:30am - 2:00pm: The swim will be on the south side of the lake with the start/finish at the south event boat ramp. The swimmers will be swimming a two lap course that will go both east and west, but it will stay on the south side of the lake. If you are boating during this time please be sure to stay in the center of the lake as you head east, and stay well to the north side of the lake as you travel west. Please keep an eye out for swimmers as they can get disoriented swimming so far.

Saturday and Sunday, November 15 and 16:

Splash and Dash, 7:30 - 9:00am: (Final Splash and Dash of the Fall

Series) The swim course will be on the north side of the lake from the marina to Mill Ave. Swim Course will be buoyed off. Please stay outside of the buoys. Rowers/paddlers please give a wide berth at the buoys b/c sometimes the swimmers get out of the safety zone.

Marina parking will be impacted so it may be smart to use Papago Park parking if you can't find a spot at the marina.

ASU Homecoming: No Lake impact but expect traffic delays if you are in downtown Tempe.

Sunday, November 16: Free and Clear.

Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23: This is the Ironman Weekend, the race on Sunday, 11/23. Boating will be allowed on Saturday, but there will be a practice swim and it will follow the usual procedures that has been established for the last 6 Ironman Events. The lake will be closed on Sunday, 11/23 and traffic will be a bottle neck all around the downtown Tempe area. A good day to go for a hike...

Enjoy the lake!

Tempe 11 wins four national awards

Tempe 11 secured four awards at the 23rd Annual Government Programming Awards hosted by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).

Tempe 11, the city's television and online information source, earned awards for its "Reading Ahoy!" and "TCA: Building an Icon" programs. 

The library program that turned preschoolers into pirates searching for treasure, "Reading Ahoy!," received awards in two categories.  It was recognized in the Children/Young Adult (Operating Budget Under $300,000) and Library categories.

Coverage of the Tempe Center for the Arts in "TCA: Building an Icon,"

received Second Place in Community Event Coverage (Operating Budget Under $300,000) and Third Place in the Documentary - Profile (Operating Budget $200,000 - 400,000) category.

The NATOA awards recognize excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies.

Programs considered for the 2008 Awards must have been originally ran between March 24, 2007 and March 21, 2008.

In addition to the recognition from NATOA, Tempe 11 staff member Greg Wolfe was nominated for a Rocky Mountain Emmy through the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  Though Tempe 11 was not selected as an award recipient, the Emmy nomination recognized outstanding work on a program chronicling the grand opening of the Tempe Center for the Arts.