November 19, 2009

In the News:
Pioneering transit center opens in Mesa, The Arizona Republic, November 9, 2009
Metro chief: Then there were two, The Arizona Republic, November 17, 2009
Metro chief finds greener pastures, The Arizona Republic, November 19, 2009

Upcoming Events:
COMTO & WTS, with the generous support of AzTA and Friends of Transit
invite you to the farewell reception for METRO CEO Rick Simonetta
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
6:00-8:00pm
Phoenix Art Museum Great Hall
click here for more information

Get Onboard for Valley Forward’s Rail Ride
Thursday, December 17
4:00-7:00 pm
click here for more information


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

 

Pioneering transit center opens in Mesa
by Gary Nelson 
Nov. 9, 2009 02:22 PM
The Arizona Republic

As far as Scott Somers is concerned, everything about the new transit center just south of Superstition Springs Center is just dandy.

Except the rocks.

They hang by steel cables from a high archway, evoking the same thought from everyone below: Those cables better hold.

"The dangling rocks do make me nervous," Somers said as he helped dedicate the center on a blazing afternoon late last week.

That's exactly the point, said Bill Barnhart, the Mesa artist who designed the structure that seems to be about 10 percent bus stop, 90 percent sculpture.

"I wanted to create a little bit of visual tension," he said. "It puts people on edge a little bit, creates something that's memorable."

Still, he said, "We've done everything we can to make it completely safe."

Barnhart said he began designing the structure a year ago and his downtown Mesa studio has been fabricating the already-rusted steel pieces since January. While it includes design elements both from his studio and the nearby mall, it also melds with the desert and evokes a sense of history with numerous black-and-white photos of Arizona's past on display.

The station is one of 26 along the LINK line that since last December has connected Superstition Springs with the Sycamore light rail station via special buses that cruise Main Street and Power Road. Thirteen of the stations also opened last Thursday.

While most of the stations follow the same design, the one at the mall and another at the Mesa Arts Center are unique.

The arts center station, designed by Laurie Lindquist, incorporates dangling mirror-coated "raindrops" to create unique visual and sound effects.

The LINK line stations are the first physical construction project in the 23-year history of the Regional Public Transportation Authority, and although they're in Mesa they come courtesy of taxpayers all over Maricopa County.

That's because county voters decided in 2004 to pass a half-cent sales tax under Proposition 400 for a regional transportation program that includes this and future LINK lines, freeways and light rail. Under the program, Mesa will get another LINK line beginning next summer, running on Country Club Drive from Main Street into Chandler.

Total cost of the Superstition Springs transit center and the other LINK stations was about $7.5 million. For September, average daily ridership on the line was 235 - a number that transit officials expect will rise over time as people become more aware of the service.

Somers, who represents southeast Mesa on the City Council, said the investment is worthwhile because it promotes something that's all the rage among planners these days - sustainability.

"Using transit is about sustainability," he said. "It's reducing our carbon footprint and using less oil. . . . If we can reduce our consumption of foreign oil, it leads to better national security."

Somers said transit also reduces the sense of social isolation that builds as thousands of people ride in their cars alone to and from work every day.

The new station is in a park and ride lot that has been open since mid-2007. The facility serves not only LINK but also several other bus lines.

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Metro chief: Then there were two
Sean Holstege LIGHT RAIL BLOG
The Arizona Republic
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 02:36


Metro’s board will interview Wednesday the final two candidates vying to replace CEO Rick Simonetta, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Both candidates are 20-year-plus transit industry veterans with connections to national organizations, but they come from very different backgrounds.

Stephen Banta is currently the operations chief for Portland’s growing light rail system. Deborah Wathen Finn is an independent consultant who at one time led a national organization dedicated to advancing women in the historically male-dominated transit business.

Wednesday’s closed-door meeting is the third in two weeks in which the governing board interviewed candidates. Metro spokeswoman Hillary Foose said no decision is expected Wednesday. Throughout the process, Metro board members have been tight-lipped about the type of manager they want to replace Simonetta, Metro’s first chief.

His replacement comes at a critical juncture. The next CEO will be asked to expand the system and maintain a successful service amid sharp drops in available revenues. The CEO must balance the needs of six member cities, including three _ Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa _ that currently have train service.

Wathen started her career at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a policy and public affairs specialist. She had a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University in political science. She went on to become superintendant of a small New Jersey commuter rail line, the Raritan Valley Rail Line. It carried about 7,500 daily passengers on the 45-mile track. Later she worked her way up to an executive position in the transportation division of the large Colorado-based consultant CH2M Hill. In 1982 she was named president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, which aims to foster women transit leaders. The WTS recently honored the New York-based headhunter Metro hired for its executive search. Most recently Wathen formed The Wathen Group, a transportation consultancy.

Banta has more direct operational experience. In 2007 he became the operations chief of the Portland area’s transit agency, TriMet. In September TriMet expanded its light-rail MAX service into three counties. Banta manages train service for a 52-mile, 80-station system. The newest line carried 40,000 passengers on opening day, roughly equivalent to Metro’s passenger average passenger load in one of its busier months. Prior to Tri-Met, Banta was operations chief at the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, the same place where Simonetta got his start in 1971. Banta’s career began repairing rail cars for the San Diego trolley in 1986.

Neither Banta nor Wathen has been the CEO or general manager of a transit agency. Both have been active at the American Public Transportation Association, a national trade and lobbying group. 

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Metro chief finds greener pastures
Sean Holstege LIGHT RAIL BLOG
The Arizona Republic
Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:50 PM

Metro CEO Rick Simonetta, after stepping down in the New Year, will work at one of the nation’s biggest transportation consulting firms developing the country’s high speed rail system.

He will become Vice President and National Director of High Speed Rail for URS Corporation, according to a company announcement. Simonetta will work from URS’s office in Columbus, Ohio.

URS is working with the California High Speed Rail Authority, which has plans and a $10 billion voter-approved bond to start an 800-mile network connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco and other California cities. Simonetta’s hiring comes as the U.S. Department of Transportation considers where to spend $8 billion of stimulus funds on a new national high-speed rail program.

California, Chicago and the Northeast are leading contenders for that money. Arizona was not included in the federal high-speed rail strategy. Some private developers and investors plus regional governments in mountain west states are quietly working on connecting Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City to each other and other regions by high-speed rail.

URS consultants are working with the Maricopa Association of Governments and the Arizona Department of Transportation to develop state and Valley rail plans. The focus of that effort has been commuter, conventional inter-city and freight rail service.

Metro Board Chairman and Phoenix councilman Tom Simplot says the agency will name Simonetta’s replacement on Dec. 9. This week the board interviewed two transit industry veterans as finalists: Stephen Banta, the operations chief at Portland’s light rail system and Deborah Wathen Finn, an industry consultant.

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Get Onboard for Valley Forward's Rail Ride!
*Due to scheduling conflicts we have moved the date to:
4:00 - 7:00 p.m., Thursday, December 17

Please join Valley Forward as we kick off the holiday season with a Rail Ride spotlighting Transit Oriented Design projects, fabulous restaurants and an Environmental Excellence Award Crescordia winner.

Let’s support METRO Light Rail and local businesses while networking and enjoying downtown amenities. We’ll start the Rail Ride at Valley Forward’s newly adopted Light Rail Station on Central and Camelback, with the first stop at Maize's. A complete agenda is listed below. Feel free to join us for all or part of this informal and fun event.

4:15 - 5:00 p.m. Maize's (Central and Camelback Stop) 
5:20 - 6:00 p.m. Fez (Indian School and Central Stop)
6:15 - 7:00 p.m. Hanny's (1st Avenue and Jefferson Stop) – Crescordia Winner

All riders are responsible to purchase their own rail pass ($1.75 one way, $3.50 full pass), as well as any food and beverages consumed along the way.

Please RSVP by December 1st at: railride@valleyforward.org

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