Subject: Some fret Scottsdale may be left behind without light rail 
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 5:43 PM

Some fret Scottsdale may be left behind without light rail 

Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 28, 2005 01:05 PM 

 

Though the city's politicos have spurned the idea, the Scottsdale Area
Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to mount a large-scale effort to bring
high-speed mass transit to the city.

A comprehensive transportation plan, to be developed next year, will
offer a recommendation on whether to bring light-rail trains up
Scottsdale Road, connecting with the 20-mile Phoenix-Mesa light-rail
line now under construction. 

The Scottsdale business leaders worry that the West's Most Western Town
could be left in the mass-transit dust, and lose out on employment and
affordable housing opportunities, if it fails to pursue light-rail. 

In the early 1980s, when Portland, Ore., was constructing a light-rail
train transit system that would become a model for the nation, the
eastern suburb of Gresham rejected a chance to bring the system
downtown.

Instead, Gresham allowed light-rail to come only to the city's edge.

"They see it now as a missed opportunity," said Mary Fetsch, spokeswoman
for Tri-Met, the Portland equivalent of Valley Metro. 

The reason: Light-rail proved a boon to metropolitan Portland,
attracting $3.8 billion in new development within walking distance of
the rail lines.

But it could be a tough fight in Scottsdale.

In 2002, when the Scottsdale City Council voted 4-3 to designate
Scottsdale Road as its mass-transit corridor, Mayor Mary Manross assured
the public that the council was not voting to approve light-rail.

Chamber ponders rail 

Officials at the chamber recognize that the public isn't exactly
clamoring for rail lines to be run up Scottsdale Road. Residents have
expressed particular concern about destroying the character of downtown
Scottsdale.

Still, light-rail transit could represent Scottsdale's best shot at
managing traffic in the future, especially between Arizona State
University's main campus in Tempe and the ASU Scottsdale Innovation
Center, a planned high-tech business park at McDowell and Scottsdale
roads. 

If a referendum were held today, most residents might vote against
bringing light rail to Scottsdale, estimates Rick Kidder, the chamber's
incoming president and chief executive officer. 

"My guess is, in the absence of a fairly rigorous community dialogue,
that the instinct of the voter would be 'No,' " Kidder said. "Partly
because of the costs involved, . . . but also because of a sense within
the city that maybe Scottsdale doesn't need to have that kind of
connectivity."

Chamber officials say Scottsdale does need a light-rail connection,
particularly given its status as an importer of jobs. Already, some
employers have a difficult time recruiting employees who can put up with
the commute.

Scottsdale brings in more commuters each day than any Valley city save
for Phoenix and Tempe. About 36,000 Valley residents commute to
Scottsdale each weekday, straining the city's transportation
infrastructure and the crowded Loop 101.

"What we see in the future is a possibility of congestion so great that
it could be difficult for our larger employers and some of our smaller
employers to attract a workforce," Kidder said. "From our perspective,
light rail is probably not 'the' answer. It is perhaps a part of the
answer. And the chamber will be making a public position at some point
in the near future."

A housing solution? 

Dean Sheppard, director of economic development for the chamber, says
light rail could address another problem in Scottsdale: the lack of
affordable housing for younger families.

To encourage use of the system, Portland and other cities have created
incentives for building higher-density residential buildings close to
light rail. The high density leads to prices that more workers can
afford.

At the same time, it creates a strong base of users for the rail system.

"That's the thing to try to bridge that (housing) affordability gap,
because we have such a huge gap in Scottsdale, and we import 50 percent
of our workers or more," Sheppard said. "The idea behind
transit-oriented development is that we make (light rail) a break-even
or profitable program."

Making light rail break even could be hardest.

In Portland this year, only 19.5 percent of Tri-Met's operating budget
came from passenger revenue - fares. The majority, 51 percent, came from
a payroll tax, while state and federal operating grants made up another
18 percent. 

"I don't think the citizens of Scottsdale are going to want to spend
that money," said Councilman Bob Littlefield, a light-rail opponent.

Perhaps not.

But in Gresham, downtown business owners watched as new development
sprang up around the light-rail system at the edge of the city.

Eventually, Gresham relocated its City Hall so that it was closer to a
light-rail station.

"A lot has been built up around it," said Bruce Solberg, a Tri-Met
spokesman.

But until it becomes a reality in the Valley, Scottsdale leaders seem
content to wait and see.

"It has to pencil out and it has to work," Kidder said. "At this point,
it's something that we're not ready to jump into with both feet."