Understanding Tempe's geography
Why Tempe's drive times defy radius math.
Tempe is geographically landlocked and cannot annex additional territory, meaning its entire drive-time shed is defined by its existing boundaries and the freeway network surrounding it — I-10 to the south, Loop 101 to the east, US-60 to the south, and SR-202 skirting the north. Sky Harbor Airport occupies a significant portion of Tempe's western border and is a non-retail land use that nonetheless generates enormous employee and traveler traffic along Curry Road and 24th Street.
Franchise developers should focus on the Mill Avenue and University Drive corridors near ASU for high-frequency, student-driven traffic, and the Warner Road/Elliot Road corridors in South Tempe for the highest household income clusters in the city. The Tempe Marketplace area at Loop 101 and Rio Salado Parkway is the dominant regional retail node and captures strong pass-through traffic from all surrounding cities.