Phoenix area light rail breaks more ridership records in April
Sean Holstege Light Rail Blog
The Arizona Republic
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 04:12 PM

Metro’s impressive ridership gains continue apace, the light rail transit agency reported.

April brought new records for total passengers and average weekday passengers, while four times last month more than 50,000 people boarded Metro on a single day. That had happened five times in the entire 16 months of service before April. The Diamondbacks home opener on Monday April 5 now stands as Metro’s daily record-holder, with 55,679 officially measured boardings.

Metro also had its first back-to-back 50,000-passenger days, when D’Backs games coincided with an Eagles concert and a Phoenix Suns playoff game.

Overall, Metro’s weekday ridership continued the yearlong trend of being 20 percent higher than the same months last year. It also meant that Metro saw double-digit increases in total ridership each of the months of 2010. April’s numbers were 4 percent higher than March’s.

Councilman: Shift part of tax to transit
GARIN GROFF
TRIBUNE
May 6, 2010 - 4:28PM , updated: May 6, 2010 - 5:02PM

For Scott Somers, it’s bad enough that one-third of Mesa has no bus service.

But the Mesa councilman is also troubled that the city is considering cuts to the already limited bus service in west Mesa. Plus new routes are being delayed. And the city may charge more to Dial-a-Ride patrons who live in the eastern part of the city to prevent other transit cutbacks.

Saying the cuts are too painful, Somers is proposing a dedicated transit tax to prevent different parts of the city from having radically different types of public transit.

“They’re paying a lot of money here but they don’t have a lot of service,” Somers said. “It’s not east versus west. It’s just equity.”

Somers wants to shift part of a 0.3 percent transportation sales tax to transit. He proposes taking one-sixth of that money for transit, which would raise about $3.5 million a year from a fund that takes in about $22 million a year. Voters approved Mesa’s transportation tax in 2006 and would have to support shifting part of the fund to transit.

The issue comes after elected officials have struggled with cutting $1.3 million in transit. One item under scrutiny is Dial-a-Ride, which is the most costly transit offering at $33.75 per trip. The federal government requires it be provided to anybody who lives within ¾ mile of a bus route, which means Mesa doesn’t have to serve anybody east of Sossaman Road. Mesa hasn’t suggested that, but is considering saving $400,000 a year by charging $2 per mile to passengers who travel in areas the city isn’t required to serve. Most of the service’s patrons are disabled or seniors, and several major retirement communities are outside the area where Dial-a-Ride is required.

Councilwoman Dina Higgins said she opposes charging higher rates to some residents. She represents an east Mesa district where many residents live far from transit.

“I’m really opposed to treating the citizens of Mesa differently based on where they live,” Higgins said.

A transit tax would prevent Mesa from charging extra for Dial-a-Ride and cutting the hours and frequency of various routes, Somers said.

Another potential transit cut is new service on Power Road, which would connect Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport — and its surrounding schools and businesses — to the Superstition Springs transit center. Mesa planned to begin service this summer but is considering a 6-month delay, despite widespread agreement the Power corridor is overdue to have a bus line.

“I think that’s a gap that’s just glaring,” Mayor Scott Smith said.

Mesa discussed transit funding when the transportation tax was first proposed, but the city decided to focus on road repairs because years of funding shortages created a maintenance backlog. Somers said the approach made sense at the time, but that interest in transit has grown as light-rail began in 2008 and other bus lines were added.

Somers’ proposal faces trouble, as the transportation tax is needed more than in years past. The recession has reduced the amount of money it brings in and state sources of money for road repairs have been cut, too. While the tax was supposed to supplement road work, it’s now an essential source that could prove as hard to take money from as transit, he said.

“We have two equally undesirable alternatives to choose from,” Somers said.

Can you afford to live in your house?
by Sean Holstege
May. 7, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

For years, renters and homebuyers were told they couldn't afford a home if it cost more than 30 percent of their income.

Now, an influential research center has come up with another yardstick that it says more accurately measures whether your choice of housing is beyond your means: The combined cost of housing and transportation shouldn't exceed 45 percent of your income.

By that standard, only half of the Valley's neighborhoods are affordable for households earning the median income, according to the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology. Families earning less than $50,000 spend two-thirds of their income on those costs.

A higher share of Phoenix neighborhoods are out of reach for those families than are New York City neighborhoods for median-income earners there, the center said.

The analysis reflects a growing realization that the affordability of a neighborhood varies significantly by not only housing but also average transportation costs. And when those costs are heavy, they burden not only individual households but also a whole region's economy.

The concept is helping shape new federal and state policies to encourage development of more compact communities that aren't so far-flung and promote less driving.

In the Valley, most of the affordable areas lie within Loop 101, based on neighborhood averages for housing prices, travel patterns and transit availability. The West Valley, all of Chandler and Gilbert and most of Scottsdale and north Phoenix are unaffordable to median earners, who make $44,752 a year.

And the length of commutes is not the dominant factor.

Each neighborhood has a unique fingerprint of such costs. It's determined by the length of commutes and trips to run errands such as picking up kids from school, gasoline costs and the necessity of owning a car. The more spread out a neighborhood, the more people depend on cars, often needing more than one. The availability of mass transit is large factor.

Fluctuating gas prices make less difference than people think. At their peak, gas prices accounted for only 30 percent of transportation expenses. A typical Valley household pays $5,000 to $7,000 a year for a vehicle regardless of gas prices, the distance to work or the fuel efficiency of the car because the costs of insurance, car payments and upkeep pile up.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology's study was based on demographic, economic and transportation data from 337 U.S. metropolitan areas. The research shows homes are far less affordable than most people thought because they fail to count the cost of getting around. Although the data is mostly based on the 2000 census, researchers say the problem is greater today because incomes haven't kept pace with costs despite the collapse in housing values.

Advice for buyers

Valley housing counselors say they've witnessed the devastation of high transportation costs on families and advise homebuyers to budget accordingly.

John Smith, president of Housing Our Communities, said his non-profit helps somebody buy a house every three days.

"I see a lot of them choosing to live inside the city," he said. Unlike in past years, his clients are looking at far-flung suburbs like Anthem and Maricopa, "and saying that's pretty far."

Smith said the many foreclosures in such suburbs are no surprise.

Linda Osuna is the director of foreclosure prevention at Newtown, another Valley housing-counseling service.

"People losing their homes and jobs have to focus on where they can go. 'Should I downsize into an apartment in Phoenix? Can I get rid of a car payment?' " she said. "I have clients who bike in because they can't afford car payments and are trying to find employment that is not more than 5 miles away."

Beyond a 10-mile radius from work, commuters see any savings from lower housing costs rubbed out by increased transportation costs. When they "drive until they qualify" for housing, they are still taking on a bigger burden.

Federal policies

The new measure of affordability is gaining traction with the Obama administration, which is weaving it into its "livable communities" policies.

The push is to promote housing, transportation and environmental projects that encourage compact, sustainable communities. Federal grants will be tied to the policies. Already, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Environmental Protection Agency are collaborating.

Leaders at the Arizona Department of Transportation say they understand that in a world of sharply declining revenue, they have to pivot to take advantage.

"We have to grab hold of this moment and recognize it for what it is," ADOT Director John Halikowski told a group of urban planners recently. "It's an opportunity to reshape the face of transportation for the 21st century."

Other regions also are shifting policies.

The Illinois Legislature passed a bill requiring state agencies to factor in both housing and transportation costs when investing in urban areas. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has set a goal of reducing the burden of combined housing and transportation costs by 10 percent for low- and moderate-income families.

To accomplish this, the planning agency has set aside about $40 million for grants to cities that opt to develop near transit and has made money for new rail projects whose station-area zoning provides for density and mixed use.

"The real thing that matters is what is on the ground, what gets built. It's not about driving a Prius. It's about not having to drive so much in the first place," commission spokesman Randy Rentschler said.

Economic logic

Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, said city leaders see expanded mass transit as key to stabilizing their economies.

"That's what's changed the conversation. It's about economics now," he said.

Big investors are finding that transit and transit-centric development make economic sense.

Shannon Scutari, ADOT's rail and sustainability chief, said regions that don't adjust to the new reality will be left behind when the economy recovers.

Cities reap more economic benefits from urban development spurred by rail transit than what they spend on the line itself, Bernstein said. And, in today's market, investors are eyeing communities that promote projects in a city's core.

"Phoenix is at risk that it can't achieve its economic potential, if the cost of basic services such as transportation and energy rise faster than the region's ability to pay for them," Bernstein said. "It will fail to attract investors. The growth engine turns off."

In 2008, audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers placed the Phoenix region in the middle of the pack for its attractiveness for private investment for commercial and multifamily development. This year, Phoenix is third from the bottom in a list of the 50 largest markets, above only Detroit and Las Vegas.

Moody's Investors Service gave the Valley a bleak assessment, citing high foreclosures and bankruptcies, low job creation, high energy prices and the collapse of housing values as reasons the Valley is a bad bet. But Moody's listed projected population growth and transit investments as bright spots, and PricewaterhouseCoopers said investments in mixed urban development, dense student and senior housing, and infrastructure would improve Phoenix's lure to investors.

The region is better poised than many might think, Bernstein said. Neighborhoods of greater than eight units per acre support light-rail service, and a higher proportion of Valley residents live in such neighborhoods than in some strong transit cities, including Portland, Ore., he said.

Moreover, there is pent-up demand for 160,000 households to move near planned light-rail lines in the Phoenix area, Bernstein said.

Investing in urban rail doesn't just help the pocketbooks of residents who choose to live near transit and get rid of a car. People switching from a suburban home to an urban one would save $3,600 a year, Bernstein's researchers found. If half of the growth in population between now and 2030 occurs in the central urban core, Phoenix households will save $2 billion a year, which they can plow back into the local economy.

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Phoenix area light rail crashes drop sharply in 2010
by Sean Holstege
The Arizona Republic
Friday, May 7, 2010 at 03:06 PM

Remember all those crashes involving Metro trains last year? The Valley’s light rail system averaged one a week in its first year. Two trains sustained severe damage and have been out of service for months.

There have only been seven crashes in all of 2010. All were relatively minor and all were caused by a motorist running a red light or turn arrow, according to Metro’s crash log. In four cases, police cited the motorist. Two crashes resulted in minor injuries. In one case, a motorist was treated on the scene. In other, the train operator complained of a sore back.

The most serious crash so far this year happened on March 18, when an 18-wheeled truck ran a red left turn arrow at the Interstate 10 underpass on Washington Street. Metro reported more than $15,000 in damage.

“I think people are getting more and more comfortable sharing the road with light rail. It’s a product of familiarity and of outreach,” Metro spokeswoman Hillary Foose said.

Metro has spent $277,000 on advertising and educational materials to get its safety message out, though much of that was before this year, when the number of crashes remained high.

“We are pleased the number of crashes is coming down and hope that trend continues,” Foose said.

Peoria City Council considers city's future transit options
by Sonu Munshi
May. 7, 2010 09:22 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Peoria City Council on Tuesday discussed the city's future transit options based on an ongoing study The council also received an initial report on an economic development study and voted to approve a major land annexation.
 

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Glendale sets transit hearing
May. 7, 2010 09:18 AM
The Arizona Republic

Valley Metro Regional Public Transit Authority will conduct a public hearing 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. May 19 about possible changes in bus service, including some that could impactPeoria residents.

None of the changes under consideration is in Peoria itself, but changes in Glendale could impact Peoria users. The meeting will be in the Glendale City Council Chambers, 5850 W. Glendale Ave.

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Tucson, Tempe get behind trolley idea
by Sean Holstege
May. 11, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

When the Valley's light-rail line was taking shape, some critics labeled it a trolley, suggesting it was a failed century-old technology.

But modern, electrified streetcars are making a comeback around the country, including in Arizona.

In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Tucson a $63 million grant to help build a 4-mile streetcar line linking the University of Arizona and downtown. Arizona's second-largest city beat out hundreds of competitors for the money.

In Tempe, momentum is building behind a proposed 2 ½-mile streetcar line along Mill Avenue that would connect with the Valley's starter light-rail line. Planners found that the streetcar is cheaper in an era of tight budgets and quicker to build than an originally conceived light-rail spur on Rural Road.

The proliferation of streetcar projects is being driven not only by those factors, but by changing urban landscapes and a major shift in federal transportation policy.

Unlike light rail, streetcars often run on short lines and stop frequently, helping connect neighborhoods and promote development and street life. The newer systems are sleeker, more extensive and more efficient than one-car, refurbished vintage trolleys that were re-introduced in the 1980s into some downtowns, including Tucson's.

About 15 U.S. cities have vintage or modern systems, according to Jim Graebner, who chairs a streetcar committee for the American Public Transportation Association. About 60 cities have plans to add streetcar lines, he said. A third of those are in advanced stages, the Federal Transit Administration reports.

"Streetcars are making a comeback because they help unify communities and boost their economic vitality. People want the choice of moving between work, home, school, church and shopping without having to get into their car," FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff said.

Transportation officials and planners widely cite Portland's and San Diego's trolley systems as successful models because they are credited with bringing vitality to those cities' downtowns. The FTA called Portland's project a great success story because it carries 12,000 daily riders and spurred investments in the region.

Arizona plans

Tucson is moving forward to open its 4-mile, 18-stop trolley line in two years.

Gary Hayes, executive director of the Pima Association of Governments, said the project was in a holding pattern until the federal money was pledged.

"When they made the announcement, I was dumbfounded - a., because they got it; and b., because of the amount they got," Hayes said. As a result, developers along the line were suddenly "champing at the bit," he said.

Marc Soronson, a consultant on the Tucson and Tempe projects, said that until Tucson got the award, private developers couldn't get financial backing to revitalize the area. Since the award, they've been able to line up $1 billion in investments, he said.

Tempe's plans are not as far along. In June, the public will get its most complete look yet at plans for a line that would run from the Mill Avenue light-rail station to Southern Avenue and would feature nine stops. The Tempe City Council is expected to vote on the idea in the fall.

The Mill Avenue streetcar proposal, expected to cost $162 million to build, is the outcome of studies for Tempe's light-rail extension called for in the region's Proposition 400 plan.

Prop. 400 called for two major transit expansions in Tempe. One was a 2-mile light-rail spur running south, most likely along Rural Road. The second was a rapid bus line to carry riders farther.

But planners' studies found the light-rail line on Rural would be too expensive for the number of riders it would carry. They identified trolleys on Mill as a better choice.

As for the rapid bus line down Rural, the Maricopa Association of Governments opted to defer it until after the Prop. 400 sales tax expires, meaning that the line can't be built without a new source of money.

That leaves the streetcar as Tempe's only remaining transit expansion with funding.

Tempe is seeking federal money for engineering. If the project is approved and funded, streetcars could run along Mill Avenue in 2017, says the city's project manager, Dawn Coomer.

She says streetcars fit the character of the area better than other systems

She and Wulf Grote, Metro's planning director, say Tempe may recommend studying two future streetcar extensions, though they are unfunded.

Graebner and others say the streetcar resurgence is more than a fad because, starting with Portland in 2001, cities have found that streetcars catalyze development like light rail, at a lower cost.

Critics, such as author Randall O'Toole, argue that developments like those in Portland couldn't have occurred without subsidized fares, federal grants and taxes from development improvement districts.

O'Toole, a researcher for the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, wrote recently in his blog that Portland based its claim that streetcars generated $2.3 billion in redevelopment by "adding up all the development that had taken place within three blocks of the streetcar . . . and attributed it to the streetcar. ... Most of this stuff would have happened without the streetcar."

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Route 66 bus route should be axed, Scottsdale panel says
by Jane Larson
May. 11, 2010 01:17 PM
The Arizona Republic

Passengers on the Route 66 bus in Scottsdale would have to switch to the neighborhood trolley or other routes, and the Route 76, Miller Road, bus would become a free trolley service, at least temporarily, under recommendations approved by the city's Transportation Commission.

The panel voted 4-0, with three members absent, Monday to endorse the changes as part of a package designed to save Scottsdale's transit budget more than $1.4 million a year.

"We'd like to keep the entire system running, but we have constraints," Chairman Bill Howard told about 20 residents concerned about transit cuts. "Every time we decide something stays, something goes."

City transportation staffers recommended eliminating Route 66, Mill Avenue/68th Street,between Roosevelt Street on the Scottsdale-Tempe border and Loloma Station in downtown Scottsdale. That section of the lightly traveled bus route covers much of the same territory as the neighborhood trolley, which runs mainly along 70th Street two blocks to the east.

No one spoke up Monday for saving Route 66, which costs Scottsdale an estimated $600,000 a year.

Scottsdale's downtown and neighborhood trolley routes, along with Route 76, drew the biggest share of nearly 1,800 comments made in an online survey, in calls and e-mails, in petitions and at meetings and open houses over the past few weeks. Residents overwhelmingly opposed reducing either trolley service.

Residents for the most part supported keeping Route 76, but were divided over a proposed rerouting. Some wanted it moved off Jackrabbit Road and 78th Street to reduce noise in the residential neighborhood, but supporters said running it along Hayden Road would unnecessarily duplicate service of the Route 81, Hayden Road, bus.

In cutting services, city staffers and commissioners said they tried to eliminate duplicative services and affect the fewest number of riders.

Commissioners voted to keep the current Route 76 but to switch operators to trolley contractor Dunn Transportation Co., for an estimated savings of $300,000 to $375,000 a year off the current $1.1 million annual cost of using bus operator Veolia Transportation.

They also voted to not add fare boxes to the route until the city reviews the costs and benefits of charging fares or otherwise generating revenue on its trolley routes.

Eliminating fares on Route 76 during the six-month review would cost the city about $37,500, Dave Meinhart, transportation director, told the commission. In contrast, installing fare boxes and setting up a collection system could cost $150,000, or $10,000 for each of the 15 city-owned trolleys, he said.

The commission also endorsed changes in the frequencies of two heavily traveled bus routes, Route 81, Hayden Road, and Route 72, Scottsdale Road.Reducing most frequencies to every 20 minutes instead of the current 15 minutes would save an estimated $550,000 to $650,000 a year.

Scottsdale needs to cut at least $1.4 million from its transit budget because the Legislature swept that amount of lottery funds to balance the state budget. The city also considered cutting another $1.7 million because of lower sales tax revenue, but both the Transportation Commission and the Budget Review Commission recommended the city shift money from street maintenance to transit to avoid the additional cuts.

The transit cuts, if approved by the City Council in June as part of next fiscal year's budget, are expected to take effect in late July.

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Glendale bus-route input sought; cuts considered
by Cecilia Chan
May. 12, 2010 08:51 AM
The Arizona Republic

Glendale commuters may see some of their bus routes reduced or eliminated due to budget cuts.

Valley Metro Regional Public Transit Authority will hold a hearing next Wednesday to get public input on proposed changes that would take effect gradually from July through January. Bus routes are affected Valley-wide.

"The list we provided is the worse-case scenario," said Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney. "Not everything may be impacted, but we wanted to let passengers know this is the list being considered."

Two express routes in Glendale are targeted for elimination, and three routes may lose Sunday services.

Tierney said individual cities took into consideration route performance in deciding where to propose changes. The targeted routes in Glendale are among the least popular.

The proposed changes come from the Legislature's sweep of state Lottery revenues, which transit officials said had supported public transportation in the Valley for 30 years.

The state redirected the Lottery funds, called the Local Transportation Assistance Fund, retroactive to Feb. 1 to help shore up its deficit-ridden budget. Glendale is expected to lose $1.5 million in transit funds in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Possible Valley Metro service changes in Glendale

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