March 27, 2008

Friends of Transit Tuesdays:
April 1, 2008 Lunch Location

In the News:

Proposed Light Rail Schedule Embodies Simplicity, East Valley Tribune, March 23, 2008
Glendale Opens First Park and Ride Lot, The Arizona Republic, March 26, 2008
Glendale Opens ‘Green’ Park and Ride Facility, The Arizona Republic, March 27, 2008

Don’t forget to visit Friends of Transit on the web at www.friendsoftransit.org!

 

On Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friends of Transit Tuesday
is proud to feature:
Blue Fin Japanese Restaurant
1401 N. Central Ave, Phoenix

The first 100 customers will receive half off their lunch bill (up to $5)!

Discount offered 10:30am – 6:30 pm
Please present this email to receive discount.

 

Plus, don’t forget to put your name into this week’s prize drawing box– $500 in prizes will be given away! Win one of these great gift certificates:

● $100 to Salon Estique, 40 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix
● $50 to Alexi’s, 3550 N. Central Ave, Phoenix (4 chances to win)
● $25 to Tracks in Wax, 4741 N. Central Ave, Phoenix (4 chances to win)
● $20 to Unique on Central, 4700 N. Central Ave, Phoenix (5 chances to win)

 

Family-owned and operated, Blue Fin Teriyaki Japanese Restaurant has been serving delicious Japanese food in its Central Avenue location since 1981. Blue Fin uses home-made sauces (no commercial packages), char-grills its chicken over pumice stones and never adds MSG. Their menu features a variety of teriyaki and Panko (breaded and fried) chicken, beef, pork, seafood and vegetarian dishes, as well as sushi, appetizers, salads and soups, curry dishes and other Asian favorites. The people are friendly and the food is terrific- stop in today!

View Blue Fin’s Menu

See you Tuesday!  Tell your Friends!

 

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Proposed light-rail schedule embodies simplicity
By Garin Groff
East Valley Tribune
March 23, 2008

 

The Bus Book takes 287 pages of maps and charts to fully explain the Valley's bus system. But commuters can basically master the Metro light-rail system in four points.

The trains will run:

Every 10 minutes from sunrise to sunset on weekdays.
Every 20 minutes other times during the week.
Every 15 minutes on weekends.
From roughly 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day.

Metro planners designed the schedule with simplicity and frequency as key features to get commuters to this new type of transit in the Valley.

They wanted something so simple that commuters could know when trains will come without looking at cumbersome books and complicated maps of the 20-mile, $1.4 billion system. It's just a matter of memorizing the three changes in frequency - and knowing riders will always have short waits during the busiest times, Metro spokeswoman Hillary Foose said.

"So there isn't a written, printed schedule," she said. "You know you could pick up a train and you won't have to wait more than 8 or 9 minutes."

The 10-minute intervals will also represent the most frequent major transit service in the Valley. Some buses run every 15 minutes on the busiest routes or during rush hour. But many run every 30 minutes, a frequency that many commuters find too long to bother with.

In fact, 15 minutes seems to be the magic number for transit agencies across the nation. Studies show passengers are more likely to ditch their cars if they know they'll never wait longer than that.

Metro will likely bring new commuters to mass transit, much like Tempe with its Orbit neighborhood circulator system. It operates every 15 minutes.

"Because it runs so frequently, they don't have to have a schedule," Tempe spokeswoman Amanda Nelson said. "We're seeing a new group of riders."

Metro's planned 10-minute frequency through the day is unusual for similar transit systems.

Passenger use drops as much as 50 percent between rush hours, Foose said, so operators scale back frequency.

But Metro studies project much higher use in the Valley. Ridership may dip 20 or 30 percent, which Metro figured was still a high enough level to run trains every 10 minutes.

The demand will come from students who shuttle between Arizona State University's Tempe and downtown Phoenix campuses. Also, the number of restaurants and office buildings along the line will attract passengers.

Metro promises a more reliable transit time than car or bus. Because it doesn't share lanes with traffic, it should make its schedule even if its going down a gridlocked road. That should further encourage ridership, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said.

"It's not affected by congestion or accidents or rain or any of the other elements that would delay it so it's a very dependent mode of transportation," Gordon said.

Passengers should only see a few exceptions to the basic schedule. It may not run as long on some holidays, though details aren't known yet.

And they could run more often during special events, perhaps every six or seven minutes.

Metro hasn't formally adopted the schedule yet but should do that this spring, Foose said.

At the same time Metro starts operating Dec. 27, Valley Metro will alter some bus routes to better tie into it and to eliminate redundant service. That transit agency is still looking at changes and will get passenger feedback before adopting the changes, Phoenix transit spokeswoman Marie Chappel said.

While buses don't run as often as Metro will, passengers can't expect more frequent bus service to match the light-rail schedule. The slowing economy is pinching transit budgets everywhere, so cities aren't looking to expand bus service.

"To increase frequency means more money," Chappel said. "And as you know, that's not what cities have a lot of right now."

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Glendale opens 1st park-and-ride lot
Facility serves as carpooling, bus-service hub
Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 26, 2008 12:00 AM

Glendale, like other cities, is encouraging public transportation as an option for a growing Valley with increasingly clogged highways.

Less than a year after the city broke ground on its first stand-alone park-and-ride lot, the commuter facility will open today.

The park-and-ride lot, at 99th and Glendale avenues near Loop 101, will have 388 shaded parking spots and could become the Valley's largest commuter facility, with more than 600 spaces at build-out.

Once parked, commuters can carpool or catch buses into downtown Phoenix and to other points.

The facility provides an opportunity for residents who haven't used public transportation to give the bus a try.

"It's just getting over that 'unknown' factor," said Cathy Colbath, a Glendale transportation administrator.

Thousands already have.

About 5,700 people daily caught a Rapid or Express bus in 2006, according to a Valley Metro survey.

A Glendale resident who catches the bus at Phoenix park-and-ride facilities was enthusiastic to hear in May that Glendale had begun construction on its own facility.

Carrie Coffey said she doesn't miss putting the miles on her truck.

"I love riding the bus, and it's better for the environment. It saves gas . . . and it's free (because her employer pays the $1.75 fare)," she said.

Most of the Valley's nearly 40 park-and-rides are lots that are shared with another business or agency. But many cities are taking the plunge with stand-alone commuter lots.

Glendale expected to spend nearly $12 million to open the facility, from purchasing the land to design and construction. Regional and federal governments contributed nearly $3 million, with a total cost of around $14.7 million.
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Glendale opens 'green' park-and-ride facility

Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 27, 2008 08:33 AM

Glendale leaders opened the city's first major commuter facility this week, emphasizing its environmentally friendly features.

The park-and-ride lot at 99th and Glendale avenues, just off Loop 101, was designed with several "green" features.

But the concept of a park-and-ride in itself is environmentally friendly, allowing people to park their vehicles and catch a bus or carpool to other Valley locations.

Mayor Elaine Scruggs, who spoke to a crowd of nearly 50 people Tuesday at the opening celebration, said it is critical for Valley leaders to embrace public transit and introduce it to residents if they are to keep up with the Valley's rampant growth.

"Until we have a viable (public) transit system, we can never really solve the transportation problems in the Valley," Scruggs said. "We won't be able to build ourselves out of this congestion by roads alone."

From design to construction, Glendale's park-and-ride aimed to go "green."

The most obvious sign of the environmentally friendly commuter facility is beneath commuters' feet.

The 12.7-acre project has the largest use of pervious concrete in the western U.S., according to the city.

"It's like a very solid Rice Krispie treat," said Matt Dudley, a transit planning manager, as he scuffed a foot at the parking lot.

The city worker blasted a steady spout of water onto the pervious concrete from a water truck. The parking lot soaked up the water like a sponge.

"There's no puddle," said one observer at the demonstration.

The specialized concrete promotes faster drainage and reduces heat released into the atmosphere, thereby reducing the heat-island effect created by traditional concrete baking in the Arizona sun.

The pavement also reduces capacity requirements for drainage facilities and discharge basins. The water moves through the concrete and into the soil, which acts as a filter for pollutants, and eventually recharges groundwater aquifers, according to the city.

One of the project's aesthetic elements also is green. A natural waterfall feature near the loading platform will have a waterfall that uses rainwater run-off.

"This is one more example of the change, the dramatic change, in our attitude toward the environment," Councilwoman Joyce Clark said. "Today, it is fashionable to go green, and Glendale is in fashion."

The commuter facility includes shade canopies, passenger walkways, restrooms and security.

Betsy Turner, a bus rider and chairwoman of the city's Citizens Transportation Oversight Committee, praised the shade and other elements that make the facility comfortable and attractive.

As of Wednesday, drivers can park their vehicles and catch a crosstown bus or a non-stop express route into downtown Phoenix.

The current 388 parking spaces should grow to 646 at full build-out.

Glendale expected to spend nearly $12 million to open the facility, including land purchase, design and construction. Nearly $3 million in regional and federal funds also was contributed, for a total cost of about $14.7 million.
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