Know the Signs- Train Approaching

· When illuminated, this sign warns that a train is approaching
· This signal is at each intersection along the light rail route

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Light-rail volunteers sought
Oct. 23, 2008 04:48 PM
The Arizona Republic

With celebrations across the 20-mile alignment and more than 200,000 people expected, Metro light rail is seeking volunteer support for the launch of Arizona's light-rail system Dec. 26-28.

Volunteers, or "Metro Ambassadors," are needed to support the many aspects of a launch party this large. Ambassadors will be asked to greet and queue passengers at platforms, provide information about the day's events and how light rail works, assist in set-up and breakdown at events and monitor for safety.

To sign up, visit www.metrolightrail.org/grandopening for an application and more details on Metro's grand opening. The deadline to apply is Nov. 14.

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Metro light rail to expand testing to entire line
Oct. 24, 2008 03:05 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Metro light rail will expand testing across all 20 miles of the line starting next week.

Until now, tests have been limited to the track south of McDowell Road, in downtown Phoenix, along Washington Street and through Tempe and Mesa.

Vehicles will now begin regular testing on Central AvenueIn addition, some trains will go all the way to the end of the line in Phoenix at 19th Avenue and Montebello.

Testing primarily occurs during the day. However, in coming weeks testing will also take place at night to simulate service.

Expect a train anytime, from either direction, according to Hillary Foose, spokeswoman for Metro light rail. She says testing will continue to ramp up and become more recurring in the weeks leading up to the system's grand opening on Dec. 27.

Testing will become so regular, in fact, it will appear as though Metro is in service, she said.

Each train is required to travel 1,000 miles during testing before it can be placed into regular service. Testing also helps Metro coordinate the various systems needed for light rail to run.

With trains testing at such a regular pace, Metro offers these guidelines to staying safe around light rail:

• Light rail is quiet; look and listen for the train.
• Obey the traffic signals; stop on red.
• Use the crosswalks and obey all signals.
• Stay off the trackway; never drive, bike, walk or skateboard on the tracks.
• Stay clear of the overhead wires; they are energized.

So far, Metro has not had a serious accident. For more on how to ride and ways to be safe around light rail, visit www.metrolightrail.org.

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Lighting up Tempe's hopes for the future
Students, businesses look forward to light-rail launch
by Chad Graham
Oct. 28, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Tempe is putting its economic hopes into light rail. Just look at the bridge over Tempe Town Lake to see.

Each time a Metro light-rail train crosses into Tempe, it will set off a Vegas-style light show on the $22 million span.

The lights will be a continual reminder of how charged the city is about the $1.4 billion, 20-mile transportation system that launches Dec. 27.

Light rail could simplify the lives of Arizona State University students, reinvigorate the Mill Avenue business district and transform the Apache Boulevard area, once a bustling neighborhood but now troubled by crime and urban decline.

"The effect of the light rail all along the corridor in Tempe has been so dramatic, and it has been unabated," said Chris Salomone, Tempe's community-development manager. "It's all been incredibly fortunate for the city."

Many of the mixed-use projects planned along the light-rail route in Tempe are forging ahead despite the credit crisis that has stalled other Valley projects, officials said. Light rail has provided a bit of a buffer against the downturn.

Student benefit

Students, faculty and staff who travel among ASU's campuses in Tempe, central Phoenix, west Phoenix and Mesa hope light rail will make their daily routine more convenient.

Ram Pendyala is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at ASU who has spent much of his career studying how and why people use transportation systems. He believes students will be critical first-adopters of the system.

ASU now uses a system of free shuttles to transport students such as Mallory Kydd among campuses. The sophomore rides from Tempe to the new Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in downtown Phoenix.

Kydd said the shuttle is a better alternative to driving, but there are drawbacks.

The buses can be packed and sometimes make her late to class.

Light rail should fix that problem.

Shuttle buses run every half-hour, but light rail will operate every 10 minutes during daytime hours.

The trip between Tempe and Phoenix is projected to take about 20 minutes, whereas the bus can take upward of 40 minutes during rush-hour traffic.

"I'm looking forward to the light rail coming every 10 minutes, and it'll make more stops where I need to be," said Sharon Ponce, a faculty associate at ASU's College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation. She takes the free shuttle between Tempe to Phoenix three times a week.

Shuttles will transport riders from light-rail stations to the Polytechnic campus in Mesa as well as to the West campus in Phoenix.

Light rail also could mean savings for those able to park in a light-rail lot instead of parking on the Tempe campus. ASU charges $210 to $780 a year to park at its Tempe campus. Students holding a U-Pass card can ride the light rail, as well as take the Valley Metro bus, for free at all times. Faculty and staff can buy a U-Pass that can save them money on public transportation.

"Once people try it out, they're going to see the benefit of it," said Shereen Saurey, spokeswoman for ASU's Parking and Transit Services.

Beyond ASU

The Tempe Mission Palms Hotel is just one of the businesses along Mill Avenue that hopes to see a spike from light rail.

If a large convention coming to Phoenix needs to find additional hotel rooms in other Valley cities, for example, "we would become a natural for that because of the light rail," said Chris Kenney, director of sales and marketing. "It is really a benefit to our community."

Mill Avenue's restaurants and shops have not only taken a hit during the downturn as consumers cut spending but also from competition from Tempe Marketplace, an outdoor entertainment and shopping mall.

"Right now, it is going through a period of struggle," said Vic Linoff, who operated an antiques and bookstore on Mill Avenue for 35 years. The store recently closed. "It is struggling to find its appropriate identity in these changing times."

Linoff, who has already ridden the light rail, praised the system and believes it'll draw more visitors to Mill, especially those who are leery of the area's limited parking.

It could help develop future independent businesses that offer an alternative to chain stores found in a shopping mall.

City leaders and developers hope that the dozen or so projects planned for Mill Avenue, when combined with light rail, will give the area more of an urban-living vibe.

Light rail is a big part of establishing Mill and downtown Tempe as a place people want to live, said Casaundra Brown, spokeswoman for Downtown Tempe Community Inc., a non-profit that manages the area.

"People want to be able to leave their cars, hop on public transportation like the light rail and go to a game or maybe go to Mesa and be able to come back here and walk home," she said.

The trains, for example, will connect sports fans to Sun Devil Stadium and theatergoers to Gammage Auditorium.

Apache to benefit most

The biggest economic-development benefit of light rail in Tempe may come to Apache Boulevard.

For decades, the route southeast of downtown was a part of the old U.S. 60, which connected travelers to Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott. Tourist traps, gas stations, motor lodges and restaurants sprang up along the busy route. It spurred the development of Tempe's first subdivisions in the 1940s.

The area, however, began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was bypassed by Interstate 10 and the Superstition Freeway. The properties along Apache Boulevard were zoned for commercial highway development and were narrow and therefore difficult to redevelop. The area began its decline and became a place known for prostitution.

In the mid-1990s, Tempe officials launched a redevelopment plan.

Farouk Almarayati, owner of Haji-Baba International Foods near Apache Boulevard and Loop 101, said the area has seen improvements, but the turnaround has been slow.He hopes the light rail speeds that process. He also hopes that the street feels more connected to downtown Tempe and that businesses have nice storefronts that let people window-shop. "But that's long-term," he said. "We're going to have to wait and see."

During the past handful of years, as the transportation system became a reality, city officials saw property values triple, said Salomone, Tempe's community-development manager.

Even in the downturn, which has dropped prices, about 10 projects are still being built in the Apache corridor.

"The flattening of the economy did cause some readjustments along Apache Boulevard," he said. "In particular, we saw more of the dense condominium projects convert to student-housing projects, which are more recession-proof.

"The few projects that have been stalled will come back sooner because of the light rail."

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Light-rail shade will be adequate, officials say
by Ron Sanzone
Oct. 28, 2008 11:42 AM
The Arizona Republic

Metro light rail incorporates three elements into a shading system it hopes will keep light-rail passengers comfortable at its stations as they await trains

Mike James, an architect who was involved in Metro's station planning, says that the three-layered shading system was the best of five designs presented by teams of architects to Metro, in part because it blocks reflective heat that comes off the asphalt on nearby streets. Here's how each system element works:

• Canopies. A series of angled overhead canopies made of tensile material will shade the waiting areas of station platforms throughout much of the day. Unlike most other materials, the temperature of the tensile fabric will not heat up beyond the surrounding air temperature, a key to keeping the areas underneath it cooler. Aesthetically designed to resemble birds in flight, the canopies are "a signature look that is unique to Phoenix," James said.

• Vertical shades. Also referred to as louvers, these shades fill in the coverage gaps left by the canopies during early-morning and late-afternoon hours. Slanted downward and upward at 30-degree angles, the shades have the appearance of open sets of blinds. Metro decided against a solid opaque design because local businesses wanted to be fully visible from stations and neighbors wanted to be able to keep an eye on station platforms for security reasons.

• Green screens. Located at most stations, these trellises are vertical metal cages that will be covered with vines. They will provide the station with additional shade and a small amount of moisture produced by plants.

To provide additional relief, each station will feature a drinking fountain, a canopy of three to six trees, and paint that does not heat up covering the metal areas that might be touched by passengers.

Q and A

Dan Hoffman, a professor of architecture at Arizona State University, spoke to The Republic about how well he thinks the shading system at Metro light rail's stations will work. He also talked about the station design in general.

Question: What do you think of the shading design Metro is using for its stations? How effective will it be?

Answer: It's not optimum, but it does perform at a basic level. The canopies are made of white cloth, which is good because they reflect a lot of the heat, though the edge of cloth is up high and would provide more shade if it were lower. Their solution was not optimal but was sufficient.

Q: Are there any problems you see or concerns you have with the design of the stations?

A: There are aspects that are good, such as the shade cloth. I like the dynamic utilities. I don't think it's the most efficient design possible. It does provide the basics, but doesn't provide the highest quality design-wise. What was chosen was good, not great, and sufficient, not optimal.

Q: What could have been improved?

A: The actual steel structure, which is expensive, could have been done in a more elegant and simple way. It's flamboyant. Moisture and plantings would improve it and cool it down more, but that would have required more money.

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Phoenix cuts early-morning, late-night bus runs
by Casey Newton
Oct. 29, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Early-morning and late-night bus hours will be eliminated and Saturday service reduced in Phoenix as the city makes unprecedented budget cuts.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted unanimously to eliminate all trips before 5 a.m. and after 10 p.m. In addition, Saturday service will be reduced to match Sunday levels, a reduction of 24 percent.

The reductions go into effect Dec. 29, leaving thousands of people to find new ways of getting from place to place.

Transit advocates and bus riders protested the move, saying that eliminating bus service would disproportionately affect the poor and residents with disabilities. Donna Powers, who uses a wheelchair, said reducing bus service would make it harder for transit-dependent people to work and shop, compounding the city's economic woes.

"If people can't ride, there's going to be less buying," Powers said. "We tend to overlook the fact."

The weekday routes being eliminated account for 3,600 boardings per day. Council members said they had little choice but to accept the staff's recommendation.

"It's very painful," Councilwoman Peggy Neely said.

The move, which will save $7.4 million between now and July 2010, comes as collections from Phoenix's Transit 2000 tax have fallen 6.9 percent over the past year.

The transit tax paid for a large expansion of Phoenix's bus service in 2000.

"Our problem is that there is not enough money coming in to pay for the services we have," City Manager Frank Fairbanks said.

Further reductions to bus service will be made in July, as Phoenix attempts to close a $250 million budget deficit, officials said.

An additional $10 million may need to be cut from the transit budget, said Tom Callow, a deputy city manager.

In a separate move, the Regional Public Transportation Authority is considering a fare increase to offset part of the budget deficit.

Phoenix hopes to restore the routes when the economy improves.

In the meantime, though, bus riders lamented the loss of the service.

"There are times when I have to be somewhere after 10 p.m.," said Lisa Dugan, who is blind. She said that absent other options, she would have to rely on friends and family for transportation.

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FRIENDS OF TRANSIT, inc.
a 501 (c)(3)
P.O. Box 36916
Phoenix, AZ 85067-6916
(602) 818-1024
info@friendsoftransit.org

Know the Signs- Train Approaching · When illuminated, this sign warns that a train is approaching · This signal is at each intersection along the light rail route

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Know the Signs- Train Approaching

· When illuminated, this sign warns that a train is approaching
· This signal is at each intersection along the light rail route