October 15, 2008

Friends,


In the News:
Businesses hope a new era arrives with rumble of light rail, The Arizona Republic, October 9, 2008
Mesa closer to decision on downtown transit, The Arizona Republic, October 10, 2008
Bicyclists will benefit from $700 billion bailout, The Arizona Republic, October 10, 2008
Light rail stokes downtown dreams, The Arizona Republic, October 14, 2008
METRO quietly weighing free light-rail rides, Tribune, October 14, 2008

Upcoming Events:
MAG Regional Transit Framework Study- Public Meetings- The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is holding public meetings for the Regional Transit Framework Study. Information about future regional transit needs and potential transit corridors will be presented. Attendees will have the opportunity to comment on the potential transit corridors and the types and levels of services needed. A presentation will be provided at each meeting. Click here for dates, times and location of the meetings.

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

 

back to top

Businesses hope a new era arrives with rumble of light rail
by Chad Graham 
Oct. 9, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Light rail is giving Central Avenue a chance to become Phoenix's premier boulevard.

The avenue's 3-mile stretch from just south of McDowell Road to Camelback Road is a jumble of disconnected identities. High-rise office towers back up to historic neighborhoods. A world-renowned art museum sits across the street from a CVS pharmacy.

It is the address for the Heard Museum and Phoenix Public Library's main branch, two of the most architecturally significant buildings in the Valley. Yet there are acres of empty lots, as well, many in decades-old holding patterns as past excitement and blueprints faded.

"The light rail provides that avenue to put together the final pieces," said Phoenix City Councilman Tom Simplot, who represents part of the Central Avenue corridor and is chairman of Metro light rail's board of directors. "We will have a live, work, play environment."

Promising future

Although it still might be a decade away, a more vibrant Central Avenue could mean more residents living and working in the area. It could mean well-heeled professionals and First Friday artists shopping at boutique stores and frequenting independent coffeehouses and unique restaurants.

Central Avenue could become the place where suburbanites grab a drink or dinner and then take light rail to a sporting event or concert downtown. It could become a destination street like Mill Avenue in Tempe.

"(It) could be a very walkable, shoppable street as far down as you want to go," said Brad Plumley, co-owner of Haus Modern Living. "There's a lot of empty space."

His business, which sells items from $4.50 luggage tags to $15,000 Italian sofas, moved this summer from Biltmore Fashion Park to near a Central Avenue light-rail stop.

"Ideally, Central would be more cosmopolitan with more locally owned businesses opening up and selling their products," he said, adding that he would like to see the area be known as the antidote to the big-box chain stores common elsewhere in the Valley.

Economic pain

Until the late 1980s, Central Avenue was a center for corporate headquarters and ritzy living, but the artery dimmed after the recession of the early 1990s.

The street's image began to re-emerge in recent years with the development of luxury condominiums - with everything from sleek and modern designs to stately Victorian row houses.

With light rail coming, the avenue readied for its largest building boom in more than a quarter-century, but the real-estate bubble burst before much of the construction began. Developers again abandoned or delayed projects.

It may take a decade after light rail opens to spur such wide-scale development again, Simplot said.

"Until we get a track record of sustainable ridership, I don't think we're going to see the developers finding the financing to be able to build in the short term," he said. "We know that there is a lot of excitement from the development community about the potential and possibilities. Once the financing comes back into Arizona, we know . . . there will be building that will be going on: more apartments, more condos, retail, commercial, office space."

Luxury living delayed

David Pourbaba, CEO and founder of 4D Development & Investment in Los Angeles, still hopes his luxury-condominium project will be built.

Cielo Phoenix, a 36-story building of 500 condominiums with units initially priced from $300,000 to $2 million, has been delayed until at least next year. It was to have been the new home to Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart.

"Right now, the market is just not there," Pourbaba said. "The capital market is going to get worse through the end of the year, but we expect it to get better in the second quarter of 2009."

Still, he has faith that light rail will draw new residents to the area after the economy recovers and that they will want a nice place to live.

"At the end of the day, Phoenix is too big of an area, and the driving just makes people tired," he said. "I think there will be some conservation, people will want to be closer, and the only way to do that will be to go vertical."

Hip and cool already

What might Central Avenue look like in 10 years? Some signs of urban hip are already in place, and others are on the way.

One corner to watch is Central Avenue and Camelback Road, which already has boutiques like Frances Vintage and Halo Precision Piercing.

Postino Winecafe, an eatery in the Arcadia neighborhood, will open a second location, Postino Central, at the former home of Katz's Deli on Central Avenue. It is set to open by January. Highly anticipated restaurants Cyclo and St. Francis Place are set to open nearby.

At the corner of the two major streets, a residential and hotel project has started moving through the city-planning process. Light rail will go behind the property diagonally, making it one of the easiest places to get to.

Construction woes

Down the street, near Steele Indian School Park, there is Lux Coffee, a hip hangout with minimal decor and works by local artists. The coffee bar remained busy through the construction that devastated other businesses, but it is ready for that messy chapter to be finished.

Jeff and Tara Fischer bought the coffeehouse in October 2005. Light-rail construction began in early 2006.

Jeff remembers the time the restaurant's water was cut off and it couldn't serve coffee. Construction limited patrons' access into the parking lot.

"The construction was out of our control, so we focused on things that we could control," he said. "We shifted away from being predicated on volume and more predicated on having a really quality experience for everyone that came in."

They tried to provide the best individualized service possible, in part by memorizing customers' names and usual orders.

When Jeff Fischer looks at Central Avenue now, he still sees a lot of the empty lots left by the mortgage fallout.

"I hope the light rail fills in some of those voids," Jeff said.

back to top

Mesa closer to decision on downtown transit
by Gary Nelson 
Oct. 10, 2008 08:01 AM
The Arizona Republic

Mesa is edging closer to a decision on whether, and how, to expand high-capacity mass transit from the Sycamore light-rail station into downtown.

It could be buses or it could be a light-rail extension, accompanied by either two or four lanes of traffic. As the route approaches downtown, it could stay on Main Street or veer to First Street or First Avenue.

A major step in narrowing down those choices is on tap for Tuesday night, when Metro light rail hosts a meeting at East Valley Institute of Technology to roll out results of recent planning and community outreach efforts.

Marc Soronson, manager of corridor planning for Metro, told the City Council this week that after input is gathered from Tuesday's meeting, "we will be packaging a recommendation" on future transit options for the council to consider.

A 20-mile "starter line" for the Valley's light rail system opens in December, stretching from Sycamore through Tempe and into north-central Phoenix. Numerous options for extending the line, either with rapid buses or more rail, are on the table throughout the Valley.

Mayor Scott Smith told Soronson he had two major concerns about extending rail into downtown:

• Impact on merchants. "I'd like to get as specific as we can in addressing some of the real concerns that our downtown merchants have," Smith said. If light-rail construction tears up part of the downtown, Smith said it should be completed as quickly as possible.

• Cost. Smith said he has seen preliminary studies that suggest a Main Street route would be about as expensive as either First Street or First Avenue. "It doesn't pass the smell test," Smith said, because it seems logical that Main Street would involve less infrastructure work. Smith said he wants more detail on potential costs before moving ahead.

Mike James, Mesa's transit manager, said the council this month will consider an ordinance governing passenger conduct on trains and buses. It will allow operators to conduct on-board fare inspections and specify certain kinds of unlawful conduct.

Violators could be banned from riding for up to a year, and face civil fines of $50 to $500, in addition to whatever criminal statutes might apply.

Mesa's transit code will mesh with those in Phoenix and Tempe, creating a unified set of rules for bus and train passengers.

back to top

Bicyclists will benefit from $700 billion bailout
by Kerry Fehr-Snyder 
Oct. 10, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Tucked inside a controversial $700 billion federal bailout bill is a tiny fringe benefit for bike commuters that has been pushed by the cycling community for the past seven years.

The $240 annual benefit per person, or $20 per month, will reimburse bike commuters for things like bikes, tires, lights, locks, helmets, padded shorts and CamelBak hydration backpacks.

"It's sort of an equity thing," said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. "People who take transit and park their cars already get tax breaks."

Commuters who use mass transit such as light rail and city bus systems can receive up to $115 per month to offset their transit passes, plus an additional $220 per month to reimburse them for parking fees.

Under the new program, commuters who ride bicycles to work will get their own, albeit smaller, fringe benefits. And like the program for mass-transit users, the new benefit is expected to come from employers to employees who submit receipts. Employers, in turn, get tax benefits for reimbursing their employees.

Congressional Quarterly estimates the cost to taxpayers for this bicycle program will be about $10 million over 10 years.

Bike commuters in the Valley cheered the news as giving legitimacy to riding to work on two wheels.

"It sends a really good message that this is a viable alternative form of transportation for some people," said Maureen DeCindis, who rides her bike from Tempe to downtown Phoenix, where she works as a transportation planner for the Maricopa Association of Governments. "This is good now in this economic downturn because people are looking for ways to be resourceful."

Radar Matt, an avid bicyclist in Ahwatukee and certified bicycle instructor and assistant education director for the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists, said the tax break could encourage riders who have been sitting on the fence to commute to work on a bike.

"It's certainly not stunning, but it gives people little bit of a break," he said.

Matt and other advocates have been trying to determine how the cyclists would cash in on the breaks. Clarke, of the League of American Bicyclists, said he expects the details to be hammered out over the next couple of months before the program kicks in next year.

The bike incentive is part of the renewable-energy-alternatives portion of the 451-page "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008."

"We did not choose the bailout package as the most common-sense or logical way to get this done," Clarke said. "The good news for bicycle commuters is that the bill has passed, and it's something we wanted for seven years."

back to top

Light rail stokes downtown dreams
Business owners hoping light-rail riders will stay and play
Chad Graham 
Oct. 14, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Downtown business owners are hoping the convenience of light rail will persuade more people to stick around after sporting events and concerts.

Baseball, basketball, theater and live music regularly bring thousands downtown. But most people tend to arrive right before events and leave right after. The start of light-rail service on Dec. 27 raises hopes that people will come early or stay late for food, drink and other entertainment. Along the 20-mile track, there will be a lot of choices. Light rail, plus the $600 million convention-center expansion, the $223 million downtown ASU campus, the $900 million CityScape development at the former Patriots Square Park and the $350 million Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel are seen collectively as downtown Phoenix's best chance in decades to become the region's downtown.

"I think light rail has the potential to have as positive an impact as anything that I can remember, and I've been downtown for over 35 years," said Michael Ratner, owner of Tom's Restaurant & Tavern at Washington Street and Central Avenue.

The popular eatery was named for a legendary bar and pool hall that existed in the area when trolley lines connected the city.

To lure evening customers over the years, Ratner has instituted happy-hour specials, parking validation for diners who wanted to eat and then attend events, and curbside service. The results were mixed, at best.

To prepare for light rail, Tom's is refashioning the front of the restaurant to offer convenience items for light-rail riders like drinks, books and magazines.

"I think that all restaurants and all businesses really need to be on their toes to do a good job when these new people start coming down on the light rail," said Brian Wicker, the restaurant's manager. "I talk to people all the time that haven't been to downtown in five years."

Longer hours sought

Downtown business owners hope light rail draws people with an interest in night life, eager to sample the bars, restaurants, clubs and boutiques that have opened the past year and a half.

They are counting on 20-somethings, often critical first-adapters of new systems like light rail, who also have the disposable income to take in a burgeoning scene. Also, light rail offers a safe way around Arizona's strict DUI laws.

These riders would eat at Roosevelt Row restaurants like Fate or shop at one-of-a-kind clothing stores like Bunky Boutique. They would check out new bands at the Ruby Room, south of Chase Field, or hang out at Silver, Amsterdam and Club PHX.

That is why some downtown nightlife and venue operators wish light rail's proposed hours of operation would be extended.

The current plan calls for the last full-length light-rail train trip to leave the station at 11 p.m. Spokeswoman Hillary Foose said officials need enough time to perform track maintenance and clean cars. The first full-length trip across all 20 miles will occur at 4:40 a.m. She hinted that there could be some flexibility in those hours.

"As we move forward and hear and learn from the community we serve and see our actual ridership, we will be adaptable and refine the system accordingly," she said.

The lively old days

Downtown Phoenix wasn't always fighting for nightlife.

Through much of the 20th century, downtown hummed with activity night and day: Trains pulled into Union Station; goods were unloaded at warehouses; shoppers, workers and moviegoers packed the sidewalks.

Most of the upscale shopping, financial firms, lawyers and banks were downtown.

Then, the suburbs began to pull the center away.

Bringing housing back has long been considered a key to bringing vitality back to downtown. New apartments and high-rise condos have been built despite the poor economy, driven in part by the arrival of light rail.

Across the street from Tom's Tavern, construction is under way on the 1.8 million-plus square-foot CityScape. Covering three blocks, it will feature condos, offices and shops. The first phase of the project is under construction and slated to open in early 2010.

Because of the recent turbulent events on Wall Street, plenty of questions remain about at least one tenant central to the project: Wachovia Corp.

The company has signed a lease to anchor CityScape's 27-story office tower, One East Washington. But Wachovia is in the process of being acquired by Wells Fargo and Co. Project officials have said it is too early to know how the deal will impact CityScape.

Without the light rail, "I don't know if the project would have happened on the scale that it happened," said Jeff Moloznik, development manager for RED Development LLC, which is behind CityScape.

CityScape officials are also putting faith in their project's proximity to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and the State Capitol complex.

Meanwhile, Copper Pointe 2 Development LLP is still planning to build the $25 million boutique hotel that is set to open in December 2009.

Vice President Dave MacKenzie said light rail was not the deciding factor in building the hotel, but he said it was critical in giving the project and downtown a certain vibe.

"If you think of the Bostons, the Seattles, the San Franciscos, (rail and subway systems) enhance that whole urban feel," he said.

MacKenzie likes the fact that a rail station across the street from the hotel will let guests move around the city and come back steps away from the hotel's front door.

Ratner of Tom's Tavern is taking a hopeful but wait-and-see attitude.

He has been paying downtown rents for a long time and is ready for the crowd.

With the construction of light rail and CityScape, "it's an expensive ride to be on this corner," he said. "But I don't have any intentions of giving up. I think I've probably weathered the worst of the storm."

back to top

METRO quietly weighing free light-rail rides
GETTING THERE | GUIDE TO EAST VALLEY COMMUTING
Mike Branom

Tribune
October 14, 2008

For weeks, we’ve known a rough outline of how light rail will make its debut in the Valley. 

On Friday, Dec. 26, there’s a big media preview with reporters, photographers and camera crews riding the last test train. That night, the VIPs will enjoy a celebratory banquet in downtown Phoenix. Over the weekend, people will be allowed to ride the 20-mile line for free. 

And on Monday, Dec. 29, the parties are over and passengers have to pay to get from here to there. 

But Metro is quietly rethinking the timing of that last part. 

On Wednesday, Metro’s board of directors will consider whether to hold off charging for service until New Year’s Day. That’s the recommendation of a subcommittee, although it comes with a potential revenue loss of between $50,000 and $200,000. 

As Metro staff members explain, whenever a line’s revenue service would create consistency of fare collection in those opening days. 

Also, that first week is expected to be marked by sparse ridership, as Arizona State University isn’t in session. 

However, downtown Tempe will be hosting the Insight Bowl and Tempe Block Party on New Year’s Eve. These events draw more than 200,000 participants from around the Valley, and Metro anticipates light rail might carry 20,000 to 24,000 attendees to the game and/or party, especially if there is no cost to ride. 

Getting There plans to attend Wednesday’s board meeting, so check the Tribune’s Web site that afternoon to find out the board’s decision. 

back to top

f

back to top