Friday, February 11, 2011

Light rail loses its way

I’ve been an unabashed supporter of light rail for years. And I still strongly support the existing line and the Mesa extension. But I cannot support the so-called western extension of the train that ADOT has proposed. Instead of moving through existing city streets and spurring economic development like the current line, the western extension is set to move along I-10 in the middle of the freeway. Essentially, ADOT is trying to turn light rail into commuter rail. I predict we’ll see busy trains at rush hour and then empty trains the rest of the time (will this line even need to run on the weekends?), and increased criticism of light rail from drivers who most of the time will zoom past empty light rail trains.

When the western extension turns off the freeway, things get even worse. Right now the train is slated to turn off I-10 and head south with I-17 on one side and a huge cemetery on the other. (Obviously, there is minimal opportunity for development.) At Jefferson, the track turns and heads down the center of a residential street until it runs by the capitol on the way to downtown. Oh, and when the light rail crosses the train track near 19th Avenue, the track apparently will need to rise some 40 feet in the air, which should be really pretty.

A much better route would have been down McDowell or Thomas over I-17 and turning at 19th Avenue down a commercial street before heading east at Jefferson and joining the original route. Apparently the current route isn’t set in stone, but this route appears to be ADOT’s favorite, and ADOT is famous for tuning out dissenting views.

The good news? This route won’t be built until 2021 at the earliest.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting this - I fully agree with you that this is a really stupid and irrational decision.

Here's my proposed route: head west to the Capitol, then up 19th to Camelback, then west to Grand Canyon University and over to 95th Avenue and North to Westgate, UoP Stadium, Jobing.com Arena to terminate at 95th Avenue and Glendale.

Why this route - it would connect with the current Metro line at 19th Avenue and Camelback... and hopefully with another Metro line at Glendale.

The other thing I keep trying to get across to people is this: Have Grand Avenue traffic funneled to 19th Avenue and down to Washington/Jefferson at the Capitol, with only one lane continuing down Grand. Why? This would enable the Grand Avenue "arts district" to further mature and develop, by slowing down traffic and having all-day on-street parking.

There we have it - neighborhoods established, metro lines linked at multiple points.

Ben Bethel

Steven Vance said...

Highways are no good for rail route alignment.
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/01/22/in-charlotte-a-busy-highway-may-be-no-place-for-rapid-transit/

Bob Diehl said...

Is there any way Federal funding can be tied to soemthing other than ADOT's plenary decision?

downtown_resident said...

I do know that MAG is scheduled to discuss Metro-west options tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the MAG building at First Avenue and Van Buren. Opponents of the route are gathering to voice their concerns.