April 22, 2010

Friends,

As we are hearing so much about the effects of the transit cuts the Valley is facing, we’d like to highlight a couple of positive stories where communities are finding ways to keep transit services intact. The City of Surprise has taken cuts to Dial-a-Ride service off the table (read more here), and the City of Scottsdale is looking at ways to move street funds to keep transit services (read more here).

In the News:
Public asked to weigh in on Scottsdale transit cuts, The Arizona Republic, April 7, 2010
Arizona PIRG Education Fund Releases New Report on Light Rail, April 12, 2010
Dial-a-Ride reprieve eases minds of seniors in Surprise, The Arizona Republic, April 16, 2010
Scottsdale considers plan to funnel street funds to transit, The Arizona Republic, April 19, 2010
Council soon to decide fate of free Ahwatukee bus service, The Arizona Republic, April 21, 2010
Metro delays light rail extensions again, Glendale and two others dead without new funds, The Arizona Republic, April 21, 2010
Metro pushes back plans for light-rail extensions, The Arizona Republic, April 22, 2010

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Public asked to weigh in on Scottsdale transit cuts
by Jane Larson
Apr. 7, 2010 10:58 AM
The Arizona Republic

Buses could run less often on weekends, the downtown and neighborhood trolleys could run shorter hours or fewer days, and four bus routes face trims under cuts being proposed for Scottsdale's transit budget.

The city needs to cut $3.1 million, or one-third, of its $9.5 million transit operating budget for next fiscal year, transportation director Dave Meinhart said this week.

The amount is more than twice as much as transportation staffers predicted just one month ago. At that time, the city feared the state would keep $1.4 million due Scottsdale in Local Transportation Assistance Funds to balance its budget. That possibility became reality March 18 when Gov. Jan Brewer signed a fiscal 2011 budget that retained $23 million the state typically shared with cities for transportation.

Scottsdale also must deal with declines in the share of city sales tax dedicated to transportation and in its share of the state Highway User Revenue Fund, Meinhart said.

"They're both down and haven't been rebounding," he said.

To make the $3.1 million in cuts, city staffers have developed a list of options that the Transportation Commission, Budget Review Commission and City Council could mix and match. Over the next three weeks, bus and trolley riders will have four public meetings at which they can tell the city which services they want to keep.

The proposed options include:
• Three ways to cut weekend bus and trolley service.
• Two ways to cut the neighborhood trolley.
• Five ways to cut the downtown trolley.
• Five choices for Route 76, Miller Road, and Route 66, Mill Avenue/68th Street.
• Three choices for Route 81, Hayden Road.
• Two choices for Route 170, Bell Road.

Other options could free up money that could be used elsewhere, transportation staffers said. They are:
•  Reducing the frequency of Route 72, Scottsdale Road, to 20 minutes from the current 15 minutes to save $215,000 a year. Because the route is paid for with regional funds, the money could be shifted to another bus route.

• Eliminating Dial-A-Ride service for residents not certified as disabled could save $400,000 a year. Regional funds set aside for Scottsdale could fund the service for disabled citizens for a while, but whether more money would be available later is unclear, Meinhart said.

Transportation staffers say they want to hear from the public before submitting recommendations to the Transportation Commission in May.

Cuts also will depend on what other cities do with their portions of bus routes, city staffers said. Tempe, for example, has backed off plans to cut Route 66 north of downtown Tempe, but Chandler is considering cutting its portion of the Route 511 express bus that runs south of the light rail park-and-ride lot in Tempe.

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Arizona PIRG Education Fund Releases New Report on Light Rail
Compilation of Business Interviews along Transit Line Highlights Rail Benefits
April 12, 2010
Arizona PIRG News Release

Today the Arizona PIRG Education Fund released The Businesses of Light Rail: a Compilation of Local Business Interviews, which highlights economic and other benefits that light rail has provided for local businesses.

”Arizona businesses along the light rail have benefited from increased foot traffic, increased visibility, and transportation options for special events like community festivals,” said Jesse Victor, Transportation Associate for the Arizona PIRG Education Fund.

Whereas many people initially questioned the benefits of light rail, since the rail’s completion the overall feedback has been considerably positive. The Arizona PIRG Education Fund report includes interviews of businesses whose owners were initially against the light rail, but have since become advocates in favor after seeing the benefits light rail has provided their business and the Valley community in general.

The compilation includes one business for every other light rail stop, and encompasses businesses all along the light rail line, from the Sycamore and Main Street stop in Mesa to the 19th Avenue and Camelback stop in Phoenix. A variety of establishments are represented, from retail stores, to restaurants, to service establishments and art galleries.

“Although Arizona’s decision-makers have developed plans for expanding the light rail line over the next 10 years, a large part of these plans have recently been put on hold and progress on the light rail’s expansion has been seriously delayed,” said Victor. “Arizona’s public officials need to recognize the immediate benefits light rail has already demonstrated for Arizona, and now more than ever follow through on our state’s burgeoning commitment to a 21st Century transportation system.”

The Businesses of Light Rail: a Compilation of Local Business Interviews is available for download at www.arizonapirg.org.

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Dial-a-Ride reprieve eases minds of seniors in Surprise
by Lily Leung 
Apr. 16, 2010 11:17 AM
The Arizona Republic

Angie Klaus and Ken Knapp came to Tuesday's fiscal 2011 budget hearing concerned and scared.

They left relieved and hopeful.

Klaus and Knapp are among the frequent users of Surprise's Dial-a-Ride service, which takes residents to places like doctors' offices, grocery stores and the Surprise Senior Center, for a small fee. The elderly, disabled and critically ill depend on the program.

Acting City Manager Mark Coronado told those attending the budget hearing that Surprise is no longer recommending the reduction of the Dial-a-Ride service in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

State cuts to transit funding forced the city to consider cutting the Dial-a-Ride program to serve only the critically ill, such as chemotherapy and dialysis patients. That move would have left several senior citizens, workers and people with disabilities without transportation.

Knapp, 77, depends on Dial-a-Ride to go to weekly doctor appointments and the senior center to see his friends.

"It's wonderful," Knapp said. "They're friendly, and they go directly to my house."

Without Dial-a-Ride, he wouldn't be able to leave his home and socialize, said Robin Knapp, his daughter.

"He can't get around (by himself,)" she said. "It's important for him to get out of the house. He loves going to the senior center."

For Klaus, she depends on Dial-a-Ride to go to work at Walmart, where she is a cashier.

"It's a great service," said Klaus, 59. "Please don't take it from us."

Klaus said she's willing to pay twice as much to retain service as-is. She now pays $2 round trip.

City staff and elected officials received an influx of calls from concerned citizens and service users, after the potential cut was publicized.

"We heard you really clearly," Coronado said. "(Dial-a-Ride) is not an out; it's an in."

The next challenge: finding a way to pay for it.

City officials say they are considering tapping into a contingency fund and other options but did not elaborate on the options.

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Scottsdale considers plan to funnel street funds to transit
by Jane Larson 
Apr. 19, 2010 09:15 AM
The Arizona Republic

Scottsdale might not have to cut so much from its transit budget after all.

In a proposal that drew early praise from some members of the city Budget Review Commission last week, Scottsdale could commit a greater share of its transportation sales-tax revenues to transit operations and cut back the share it spends on maintaining streets.

The shift would free up more than $1.5 million for buses and trolleys next fiscal year, limiting the transit cuts to $1.4 million instead of the $3.1 million in cuts the city envisioned less than two weeks ago.

City staffers came up with the proposal just three days after more than 25 residents pleaded with the Transportation Commission to spare drastic cuts in the downtown trolley service and save the Route 76-Miller Road bus from elimination.

Margaret Dunn, chief executive officer of Atypical Transportation Co., the trolley contractor, told both commissions that cutting trolley service ignores the economic impact that passengers have on the city when they shop and dine downtown.

Preliminary results of a survey of more than 400 riders indicate that 54 percent of trips are for shopping and 45 percent for dining, she said.

"Our riders are spending money," Dunn said. "The city must come to realize the tremendous revenue that will be lost" with trolley cuts.

Parents also described the Route 76 bus as a lifeline to their disabled daughters' jobs and independence.

"In a city where many of its citizens have much, I would respectfully request that you do not eliminate Route 76, which benefits those that have the least," said John Baracy, a former Scottsdale school superintendent whose adult daughter relies on the bus to get to work.

Acting City Manager Dave Richert presented a budget early this month that called for a $6 million cut to the transportation fund.

Some $3.1 million of that would come from transit services, and $2.9 million from roadway maintenance.

Though the dollar amounts were similar, the percentage cuts were not. Transit services would take a 33 percent hit from its $9.5 million budget, while street operations would lose just 7 percent from its $13 million budget.

A big constraint is that many parts of the streets budget, such as traffic signals and drainage, are subject to federal mandates, said Dan Worth, executive director of public works, said.

But its largest component, $4 million for asphalt work and maintenance, is less subject to mandates and was slated to take just a 9 percent hit. Those funds ensure smooth streets by making short-term repairs and long-term replacements in pavement, and Worth acknowledged to both commissions that Scottsdale is beating its targets and those of other Arizona cities in measurements of pavement quality.

The latest proposal would allocate 60 percent of the city's 0.2 percent transportation sales tax to transit and 40 percent to capital improvements, Transportation Director Dave Meinhart told the budget panel. The city now splits the tax revenue 50-50.

Richert urged the budget commission to consider recommending a revised split, saying the effect on individuals and the lost opportunities from transit cuts were "not the right thing to do."

If a 60-40 split would have less impact on transit riders, "then I'm all for it," Eric Borowsky, budget commissioner, said.

That echoed the sentiment of transportation commissioners such as Paul Ward, who said at Monday's meeting that the city ought to take another look at how to allocate its roughly $22 million pot for transit and streets.

"At some point, someone is going to have to decide: Is it more important to provide bus service or is it more important to pave streets?" he said.

Commissioner Terry Gruver said the panel ought to tell other city bodies that maintaining public transit is a priority.

"Transit in the Valley has struggled, and it has started to make some headway," she said. "We are just going to do so much damage to the progress we've made in the past 10 years by making transit cuts that are perhaps disproportionate to other cuts."

The proposed budget cuts will be discussed again by both commissions before going to the City Council for approval in June.

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Council soon to decide fate of free Ahwatukee bus service
by Cathryn Creno 
Apr. 21, 2010 09:05 AM
The Arizona Republic

There is still time to tell the Phoenix City Council whether you think Ahwatukee Local Explorer circulator buses should keep rolling around the village.

On Tuesday, the council will decide the fate of ALEX and four similar neighborhood buses that city transit staffers say Phoenix can no longer afford.

"People who ride ALEX may have trouble getting to a City Council meeting" in downtown Phoenix, Councilman Sal DiCiccio said. "Still, it's important for people who want the service to make their views known."

DiCiccio suggests Ahwatukee residents share their opinions with his staff at 602-262-7491 or send an e-mail to council.district.6@phoenix.gov.

ALEX, which has about 1,000 Foothills riders a day, and the other 19-seat neighborhood buses have been on the chopping block since March.

Phoenix transit officials learned March 18 that the city would not be getting an expected $9.2 million in state Lottery Transit Assistance Funds because of the state fiscal crisis.

On March 25, transit staff suggested that the council plug part of that hole by eliminating the $6 million circulator program, which provides free rides around Ahwatukee, Deer Valley, Desert Ridge, Maryvale and Sunnyslope. Ahwatukee's part of the bill is about $700,000 annually.

Riders use the buses to run errands, get from schools to recreational programs and to ride to transit stations where they can hop on larger buses. The idea of cutting the neighborhood buses without first getting community comment did not sit well with DiCiccio and other council members who represent areas with strong circulator use. Each convened committees of residents to come up with ideas to cut routes and hours without eliminating the mini buses entirely.

A group of eight residents of Ahwatukee proposed that the city chop about $350,000 from the ALEX budget by having the bus make stops hourly instead of every 40 minutes, not travel west of Desert Foothills Parkway or north of Elliot Road and dramatically shorten weekend service.

It also suggested eliminating the route of a Valley Metro bus that travels north and south on 48th Street and replace it with a less expensive ALEX bus.

The committee also discussed the possibility of charging a 50-cent fare but decided not to make the recommendation after city staff said ridership could fall off by as much as 40 percent if fare boxes were added to the buses.

The council is expected to discuss Ahwatukee's proposal and decide the issue Tuesday. "We're going to give it the best shot we can," DiCiccio said. "But at the end of the day, the council may vote to eliminate the circulators."

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Metro delays light rail extensions again, Glendale and two others dead without new funds
Sean Holstege Light Rail Blog
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 05:05 PM 
The Arizona Republic

Metro’s governing board voted to push back some of the planned extensions for the second time in year because of the struggling economy, all but dooming three lines in the originally envisioned 59-mile system.

The move is not surprising, but the big loser in Wednesday’s action is Glendale. A track envisioned to link downtown Glendale with the starter line with an extension in the general area of Glendale Avenue has been rescheduled for 2026.

Extensions to Glendale, toward Paradise Valley Mall and toward Peoria Avenue in Phoenix will require a new regional tax to be built, as result of Wednesday’s action.

Some Glendale leaders have been keener on connecting to the Valley’s light rail system via Interstate 10, Loop 101 and the city’s sports complex.

The extensions are all to be paid for by Proposition 400, the half-percent sales tax enacted by Maricopa County voters in 2004, plus whatever state and federal money the projects can compete for. The problem is the recession has taken huge chunks out of the projected sales tax revenues, and the region cannot afford many of the projects envisioned by Prop. 400. And Prop. 400 revenue runs out in 2025.

Revenue drops last year meant that last year Metro pushed back the Northeast Extension (Paradise Valley Mall) to 2030, and suspended indefinitely the Northwest Extension (toward MetroCenter Mall). The Northwest Extension was also split into two phases.

Wednesday, Metro set dates for the Northwest Extension. Phase One, along 19th Avenue to Dunlap Avenue, will now be planned for 2023, 11 years after the original opening date. Phase Two, from Dunlap to near Peoria Avenue, was pushed back to 2026, after Prop. 400 expires.

The chart below shows how the original plan has evolved up through today’s vote. Red fonts indicate those projects that are dead without a renewal of Prop. 400 or a new source of funding. Here’s a map showing the same thing, which appears on page 14 of the agenda.

 

Phoenix projects are mostly intact because the city has dedicated some of its own local sales tax money to light rail lines that don’t leave the city. In Tempe, the latest plans envision a street trolley along Mill Avenue, or a rapid bus line in place of the original light rail spur. The city will pick a preference in the next month or so.

That leaves Mesa as the most likely city to get the first light rail extension. Advanced planning continues, a year after Mesa voted to add four stations, and a request for federal money is expected later this year.

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Metro pushes back plans for light-rail extensions
by Sean Holstege 
Apr. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Metro's governing board voted to push back some of the planned extensions for the second time in year because of the struggling economy, all but dooming three lines in the originally envisioned 59-mile system.

A track envisioned to link downtown Glendale with the starter line with an extension in the general area of Glendale Avenue has been rescheduled for 2026.

Extensions to Glendale, toward Paradise Valley Mall and toward Peoria Avenue in Phoenix will require a new regional tax to be built, as result of Wednesday's action.

The extensions are all to be paid for by Proposition 400; the half-percent sales tax enacted by Maricopa County voters in 2004, plus whatever state and federal money the projects can compete for.

But the recession has taken huge chunks out of the projected sales-tax revenue, and officials have said the region cannot afford many of the projects envisioned by Proposition 400. Proposition 400 revenue runs out in 2025.

Revenue drops last year meant that last year Metro pushed back the Northeast Extension at Paradise Valley Mall to 2030 and suspended indefinitely the Northwest Extension toward MetroCenter Mall.

The Northwest Extension was also split into two phases.

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