March 11, 2009

In the News:
Opposition to light rail extension in Mesa dwindling, The Arizona Republic, March 5, 2009
Metro seeks community input on light-rail parking, The Arizona Republic, March 6, 2009
Mass-transit project cash rolls in, The Arizona Republic, March 6, 2009
Mesa businesses wary about light rail, Tribune, March 7, 2009

Upcoming Events:

Friends of Transit 7^th Annual Conference, Friday, April 3, 2009.  Only a few seats left! Click here for details.

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

 

What:               Friends of Transit 7^th Annual Conference: Getting There From Here

When:              Friday, April 3, 2009

                        9:00am – 1:30pm
Where:             Sheraton Downtown Phoenix

For Program information, and to register online, visit www.friendsoftransit.org

 

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Opposition to light rail extension in Mesa dwindling
by Gary Nelson 
Mar. 5, 2009 01:03 PM
The Arizona Republic

Opposition to running a future light rail extension along Main Street in downtown Mesa has faded, the City Council was told Thursday.

Tom Verploegen, president of the Downtown Mesa Association, said most downtown merchants and landowners now see Main Street as the most likely route, as opposed to either First Street or First Avenue. The council will begin considering the issue within the next few weeks.

"There's a number of factors that I think are going to dictate that it's going to be on Main Street," he said. Many downtown interests, concerned over the disruptions caused by construction, had earlier pressed for one of the other routes.

Verploegen dropped that news as he and Crystal Russell, the DMA's chairwoman, briefed the council on an ambitious plan to craft a new branding and development program for Mesa's original square mile.

Mayor Scott Smith said Mesa must be more aggressive in promoting the area.

When Verploegen said DMA plays a key role in "facilitating" downtown events, Smith said that's too passive a role.

"The downtown association should be the driver of some of these events rather than simply a support group or a facilitator," Smith said. "It seems like there's something missing there. . . . What we're missing downtown is that one group that grabs the bull by the horns and runs with it and drives it."

Smith pointed out that every March, thousands of people visit Hohokam Stadium, barely a mile north of downtown, but there's no effort to direct them to the town center before or after the games. "We're missing out on a lot of opportunities," he said.

Verploegen and Russell said DMA does what it can, but doesn't have enough money to do more.

Smith acknowledged that and praised the group for keeping the downtown clean, but he pressed his point.

"Somehow we expect drive-by development to happen," he said. "That's not life. That's just not reality. You're not going to have people come into a clean downtown and say, 'Oh, gee, I want to be there.' There's got to be a sense that this is a happening place. . . . And the No. 1 comment I get is that people don't get that buzz."

Verploegen and Russell said they're working on that.

They rolled out the skeleton of a downtown vision that will be fleshed out between now and October, when the final plan will come back to the council. It focuses on transportation, property-development issues and attracting more education. It also suggests a Latino-oriented marketplace and cultural complex.

But Councilman Alex Finter balked at one idea: Expanding DMA's "sphere of influence" into nearby areas, some of which are struggling economically and aesthetically. There probably are other ways of helping those neighborhoods, Finter said.

Smith said the city's official interest in a healthy downtown is a business matter, not one of mere emotion or nostalgia. When streets and alleys are counted, Mesa owns about 55 percent of the land in the square-mile area.

"This is the center of government," he said. "We have very much an economic interest in seeing downtown expand and grow."

This fiscal year, Mesa budgeted almost $800,000 for downtown development, including payments to the DMA for regular property assessments and maintenance of city-owned vacant land.

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Metro seeks community input on light-rail parking
by Sadie Jo Smokey 
Mar. 6, 2009 11:44 AM
The Arizona Republic

Neighbors of the Northwest Extension Metro light-rail park-and-ride facility at 19th and Dunlap avenues now have a better idea of what the area will look like, sort of. Disappointed residents said they were expecting details on the size and capacity of the parking facility.

"We're concerned about the noise, but I also want it to serve the need of their projections," said resident Dianne Doerfer. "But it's an environmental issue, the sound pollution, the air pollution. What kind of barriers will be put in place?"

Valley Metro staffers are still gathering community input: Would residents prefer surface parking or a multistory parking structure? What would residents like to see of this station/park-and-ride facility?

E-mail comments to Terry Gruver, Metro area coordinator, at tgruver@metrolightrail.org.

PARKING

Early projections showed that the facility needed to accommodate up to 1,000 vehicles in 2030. Metro is determining the accuracy of the projections and working on the conceptual design of the parking area.

FACILITY DESIGN

Artist/architect Matthew Salenger of coLAB Studio is working on the designs for the facility, which may include a stage, plaza, poetry, shade and yes, restrooms.

"The art budget isn't huge," said Salenger. "We're trying to create as much flexibility as possible."

STATIONS

The Northern and Glendale avenue stations on 19th Avenue will be located in the center of the street, 80 to 110 feet south of the intersections. The Dunlap Avenue station will be located on the south side of the street, west of 19th Avenue.

CONSTRUCTION

Residents appreciated the candor of Metro and Phoenix officials. When asked where construction would start, near Dunlap Avenue at the north, or Montebello Avenue on the south, Alvin Livingston, Metro project engineer cut to the chase.

"I don't know and I don't want to lie to you," he said. "We're still working on that."

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Mesa businesses wary about light rail
SONU MUNSHI
TRIBUNE
March 7, 2009 - 6:00PM

A key downtown group leader says that keeping downtown Mesa’s streets pedestrian-friendly is a priority, even if light rail would be extended down Main Street.

Group’s vision: a vibrant downtown Mesa

That was the first indication from Tom Verploegen, president of the Downtown Mesa Association, that the group is opening up to the idea of light rail on Main Street, given the information they have from Valley Metro officials.

The other alternatives proposed are that it be extended along First Street or First Avenue, eastbound from Sycamore, where the 20-mile line ends and starts in Mesa.

When the proposal to extend light rail along Main Street was first broached, it was met with considerable vocal opposition from downtown business owners.

“Obviously we anticipate the light rail is going to come on Main Street when you look at the variables that the Metro folks are looking at,” Verploegen said at a City Council meeting last week, where he discussed the future of downtown Mesa and how to charge it with activity.

The association, a nonprofit, is mainly responsible for maintaining and promoting downtown businesses and activities.

Verploegen said the association has not taken a formal position, as it awaits another presentation from Valley Metro shortly.

Based on cost and a desire to keep a direct route — coupled with the potential need to use eminent domain along the alternate routes — all are factors that will dictate “it’s going to be on Main Street,” Verploegen told the City Council.

There’s a mixed response from downtown business owners.

“I think it ruins the feel of the downtown area,” said Anita Stapleton, of Jersey Girl Cafe, a downtown business that’s been around for more than four years.

Stapleton added that bringing light rail downtown has the potential to “really hurt businesses,” during and even after the construction.

For instance, she said, last Saturday, 2,000 people showed up for a cruising event downtown, something she feels will disappear with light rail.

“Those types of events will cease to exist and we won’t be able to bring them back after light rail is completed,” Stapleton said.

That’s in sharp contrast to Verploegen, who later said light rail could be “the key to downtown’s future.”

Vice Mayor Kyle Jones, who’s also the council representative in the downtown association’s board, said that while the initial knee-jerk reaction from downtown players was “no way no how,” that stance has softened quite a bit.

The approach, Verploegen said, might be that rather than fight it, “let’s see how to make the best of it.”

Lissa Kennel of Lissa’s Shop said she’s open to the idea.

“I’d rather have it here,” said Kennel, who’s leased her store space downtown for three years. “It can only bring more people downtown and we sure need that.”

The Mesa City Council is expected to discuss the extension options within the next month or so.

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Mass-transit project cash rolls in
by Ronald J. Hansen 
Mar. 6, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona received $100.6 million Thursday for public-transportation projects as part of the federal stimulus plan, with about $66 million of it heading to Maricopa County.

The funds are intended for projects along the light-rail line, bus routes and other mass transit, said Eric Anderson, transportation director for the Maricopa Association of Governments.

The funds are separate from the $350 million in highway-infrastructure funding the state receives under the stimulus.

Officials with Valley Metro will make their transit-project recommendations at a March 19 meeting, and MAG may devise a countywide plan at its meeting a week later.

Anderson said the funds could go toward projects such as adding shades to light-rail stops.

Under the federal rules, officials must quickly submit their proposed project list and commit half the money by Sept. 1.

Tucson will receive about $16 million in transit funding, and rural Arizona divides the rest of the state's portion.

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