From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Prop. 400 a winner for W. Valley Date: Thursday, October 21, 2004 2:19 AM Prop. 400 a winner for W. Valley Oct. 16, 2004 12:00 AM, Arizona Republic By now, you've probably heard both sides of the debate on Proposition 400. New and expanded freeways, streets, light-rail extensions, a connected regional bus system - which is better and which is worse; do we need more or do we need less? Let me tell you how this looks from the perspective of someone who was there, from start to finish, looking out for the best interest of the West Valley and just as important, the entire Valley. We came together, mayors, council members, planning professionals, community activists, citizens and the business community to formulate a plan that works for all parts of the Valley. The East Valley needed road improvements, buses and a greater focus on building out their transit grid, and that's what Proposition 400 will deliver. Phoenix wanted Interstate 17 improved, the South Mountain Freeway built and its mass transit system expanded, and that's what Proposition 400 will deliver. What did we need? Freeways. The mayors of the West Valley representing your interests recognized this. Go to www.yeson400.com and look where the freeways are being built. Right where you want them, in the West Valley. Our population is going to grow from 3 million to 6 million people in the next 30 years, and it is going to be mostly here. We needed to move these people and with this plan we will. The Loop 303 is going to connect at I-17 approximately just south of Carefree Highway, travel south through Peoria, Surprise and Goodyear then head east through Avondale. This portion heading east is called the I-10 reliever and it will connect with Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway that meets I-10 and Loop 202 in Chandler. No more traveling through downtown Phoenix to go to Tucson. We'll go around it. People from the Southeast Valley will have a much easier time coming to Westgate in Glendale to see hockey, football or world-class entertainment. We've also planned to buy the right-of-way for the I-10 reliever to connect to State Route 85. We will have parallel freeways traveling east-to-west for greater mobility. There will be additional freeway lanes and High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on I-17, Loop 101 and I-10 as well. New interchanges are being added on these freeways as well, as will rubberized asphalt. We're going to improve the following roads: Beardsley, Lake Pleasant, El Mirage, Happy Valley, Jomax, Northern and most importantly for many, Grand Avenue. We're going to have 235 miles of regional bus service east-to-west, north-to-south through Goodyear, Avondale, Youngtown, Surprise, Glendale and even a rural route to Wickenburg and Gila Bend. Along with these routes will come additional bus pullouts and park-and-rides. Add to that the 115 route miles of new and enhanced express bus/bus rapid transit service and you see this plan is a winner for the West Valley. I urge you to look at the plan from your perspective. Ask yourself if this is going to be better for me? When we put this together, all the mayors and everyone involved started with that premise. When we were done, two years later, we all said yes. Ron Drake is the mayor of Avondale. The views expressed are those of the author. To Unsubscribe, Please Click Here