From: "Friends of Transit" <friendsoftransit@qwest.net>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient>
Subject: Thought this article might be of interest....
Date: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 2:53 PM

> > Friends,
> >
> > I thought the article below might be of interest to you.  While it deals
> > with an upcoming election in Denver, you will note a lot of similarities
> to
> > the Phoenix metropolitan area.  Cities across the country are facing
> traffic
> > gridlock and are reaching out to using transit as a means to addressing
> > these problems...and they're having great success.
> >
> > This November, voters in Maricopa County will also be going to the polls
> to
> > decide whether or not we should renew a half-cent sales tax to fund
> > freeways, roads and transit improvements.  This ballot item will be
> > addressed in Proposition 400.
> >
> > Regardless of whether you support Prop. 400 or are opposed to it, it is
> > important that voters learn about this plan.  You can learn more about
the
> > plan by visiting www.friendsoftransit.org and click on the "Let's Keep
> > Moving" plan  This plan and the link was put together by Maricopa
> > Association of Governments (MAG).
> >
> > David Schwartz
> > Executive Director
> > Friends of Transit
> >
> > * * *
> > Viewpoint
> > FasTracks is right road to take for metro area's future
> >
> >
> > Dave Lewis
> > Published: April 26, 2004
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >    The decision is a simple one: Do we want the legacy of the Denver
metro
> >    area to be congested highways, choking pollution and nothing but
> >    Band-Aid solutions to eliminate them -- or do we want to embrace a
> >    vision that we can look back on and be proud of?
> >
> >    In November, voters will be asked to approve a 0.4 percent sales tax
> >    increase, which amounts to four pennies on a $10 retail purchase, to
> >    fund FasTracks, a build-out of the Denver metro area transit system.
> The
> >    new system would include 119 miles of light- and commuter-rail,
> expanded
> >    bus service, more than 20,000 parking spaces and several new
> >    park-n-rides.
> >
> >    To put this plan into perspective, visualize a map today of the metro
> >    area with all of its major highways. Now imagine quiet,
> energy-efficient
> >    rail service covering the most congested stretches of major
highways --
> >    Sixth Avenue, I-70, I-25 and Highway 36 -- and (at last!) a train
that
> >    will take passengers and employees to and from our airport.
> >
> >    The plan also calls for expanding light-rail farther south on the
Santa
> >    Fe line and extending rail from the line that's being built on I-225
to
> >    I-70. It's a long-term view of our metro area that we, as residents
and
> >    voters, can make a choice about today.
> >
> >    How do we want to move around this city 10, 20, 30 years from now?
> >
> >    Last month, the board of the DIA Partnership unanimously passed a
> >    resolution endorsing the RTD plan. The DIA Partnership represents the
> >    fastest-growing part of the metro area: the northeast corridor.
> >
> >    While the northeast metro area will certainly benefit from a
> multi-modal
> >    transportation system with three of the transit corridors serving the
> >    region (I-225, north metro and east corridor), the DIA Partnership
> >    endorses FasTracks because it benefits all of us -- businesses,
> >    communities, current residents, our children and our grandchildren.
> >
> >    Reducing travel time, congestion and pollution improves the quality
of
> >    life for everyone, promoting smart growth and higher-density
> development
> >    along transit corridors. It's about planning today for tomorrow.
> >
> >    Not to be ignored is the economic impact it would immediately bring
to
> >    the metro area through job creation. It's estimated FasTracks will
> >    generate roughly 10,000 jobs (8,000 construction jobs and 1,200 to
> 1,800
> >    operation jobs).
> >
> >    There's a renewed commitment to regionalism in the metro area as
we've
> >    seen cities and counties working together to address many
> >    economic-development issues facing all of us today.
> >
> >    We encourage voters in the seven-county metro area to seize the
future
> >    and vote in favor of FasTracks in November.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>


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