Valley growth comes at a cost – but who pays it?

Anyone who has driven around the valley knows it. The valley has grown rapidly !

According to the United Nations World Population report, the City of Phoenix, AZ USA grew from ~ 1.51M residents in 2014 to ~1.62M residents in 2024 , about 10% growth.

However, the Phoenix Metro area grew at a much more rapid pace – from 3.9M in 2014 to 4.8M in 2024. Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Peoria, Avondale – all grew between 16% and 20%.

Why does this matter? Well, people from across the valley come to visit the Parks that are managed by the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and unfortunately, the increased population around Phoenix also leads to increased incidents that need to be handled by the Phoenix Fire Department.

Who pays for that ? Not taking into account some capacity sharing agreements with others in the valley, the Fire Department is primarily funded by the Phoenix tax payer base (who only grew with 10%).

It’s no surprise that the Fire Department is struggling with response times. These strains on the capacity levels of the cities first responders are now threatening our ability to exercise in the mountain parks like South Mountain, Camelback and the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and the city has already taken steps to reduce access to these trails.

We need to stop this slippery slope now, before this goes further and we lose access to our gorgeous desert trails altogether.