This edition of the Friends of Transit Weekly Update is sponsored by:

June 23, 2010

In the News:
Tempe mulls bus-service cuts; Orbit buses would be saved, The Arizona Republic, June 17, 2010
Queen Creek considers possibility of rail link with Valley, The Arizona Republic, June 17, 2010
Regional planners recommend streetcar route in Tempe, The Arizona Republic, June 17, 2010
Valley Metro OKs bus services reductions in West Valley, The Arizona Republic, June 19, 2010
Declining revenues slow West Valley light-rail lines, The Arizona Republic, June 22, 2010

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Tempe mulls bus-service cuts; Orbit buses would be saved
by Derek Quizon 
Jun. 17, 2010 08:58 AM
The Arizona Republic

Tempe's Orbit buses would be saved from cutbacks, but bus riders on other routes could be affected by numerous proposed service reductions that would go into effect in July if the City Council approves them at a meeting June 24.

If plans are approved, Express Route 536 stretching from Power Road in Mesa to the Tempe Transit Center near Fifth Street and Mill Avenue, would be eliminated. The segment along Route 40 from downtown Tempe to Sky Harbor International Airport would be eliminated, and transit authorities said they would count on the light rail to pick up that traffic. Portions of Express Route 511 and the FLASH system serving the ASU campus would be eliminated.

Local bus service would be eliminated before 5 a.m., and transit service would be cut altogether from five additional holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Christmas Eve.

The department released proposals in February and collected public feedback online throughout the year through online surveys and public meetings. Earlier proposals to eliminate all service before 5:30 a.m. were scaled back and recommendations to reduce the frequency of Orbit buses were dropped after surveys showed that the changes would affect a significantly high percentage of riders.

The proposed changes would take effect July 26 if approved by the council.

The options were announced Tuesday at a meeting of the council's transportation committee, which consists of Councilman Ben Arredondo and Vice Mayor Shana Ellis. Several transit department employees attended to present the options to council members.

Paul Elyva, a Sky Harbor International Airport employee who attended the public meeting, was disappointed at the committee's proposals to cut early-morning service before 5 a.m. The money saved by cutting early morning service of Route 72 along Rural Road, for example, could be saved by cutting back frequency on late night service on other bus routes in the area, which he said see fewer riders every night.

"I see about 15 or 20 people that are going to be in trouble," he said after the meeting. "The money we save on the frequency (of evening routes), maybe we can use to preserve some of these (morning) routes."

Tempe asked the transit department to find $3.3 million in bus-rail budget reductions this fiscal year. The department decided on $1.58 million in service reductions. That amounts to a 9 percent service reduction overall, and the department is anticipating it will need to find $4.7 million in savings next fiscal year, some of which will include further service reductions.

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Queen Creek considers possibility of rail link with Valley
by D.S. Woodfill 
Jun. 17, 2010 01:41 PM
The Arizona Republic

Imagine boarding a train in Queen Creek and arriving 35 minutes later at a restaurant on Tempe's Mill Avenue, then hopping back on board for a 10-minute jaunt to Chase Stadium in downtown Phoenix.

That could be possibile someday, say transit planners with the Maricopa Association of Governments.

In fact, demand already exists for commuter rail service between Queen Creek and Phoenix, said Marc Pearsall, a MAG transit planner who spoke to the Town Council Wednesday night. Pearsall presented findings from three Valley commuter rail studies that the organization started developing in 2008.

So, what's the hold up? Money.

Pearsall said identifying a funding source is the main obstacle, especially in the current economy.

After that, the normally hesitant railroad companies Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, which own the land that a commuter rail system would require, are likely to strike a deal, he said.

"The moment you identify local funding for commuter rail, the industry average is somewhere between three to five years (to start operation)," he told the council. "It's relatively quick."

Pearsall said the findings, which were accepted by MAG's Regional Council in late May, could be a tool for implementing a rail system. If and when that occurs, the 34-mile Queen Creek-Phoenix corridor should be the first line constructed in the 110-mile network branching across the Valley.

"The reason is, is because it's the most cost effective with the highest ridership potential - possibly 6,500 riders a day," he said.

The findings call for stations along the Queen Creek-Phoenix route in downtown Tempe, downtown Mesa, Gilbert, and at Arizona State University and Phoenix-Gateway Airport among other places.

Wendy Kaserman, a senior management assistant who submitted the staff report to the council Wednesday, wrote in an e-mail that commuter rail system is probably many years away."

She added the town hasn't analyzed the economic benefits.

"In general however, a rail stop would generate significant commercial and retail opportunities within the town because a new customer base would be created by passengers using the rail system," she said.

The system map endorsed by the study and accepted by MAG's Regional Council consists of multiple lines radiating from Phoenix - a 31-mile line to Buckeye, an 18-mile line to west Chandler, a 36-mile line to Wittmann and the 34-mile line to Queen Creek.

"Combined, we're looking at nearly 18,000 riders per day on a relatively mature system," Pearsall said.

He said BNSF, which owns the track running along Grand Avenue, is open to allowing commuter rail on its property as long as it is well compensated and its customers are not adversely affected, Pearsall said.

Union Pacific, which owns the other tracks including the land in the Queen Creek-Phoenix corridor, is more resistant.

That's potentially bad news for any Queen Creek resident dreaming about speeding to the office in downtown Phoenix while sipping a coffee and reading a book.

Still, Pearsall said MAG officials believe the company will come around as the region moves forward with plans.

Kaserman said while Queen Creek is still a relatively small town, there's a lot of traffic passing through every day.

She pointed to a town data used by MAG that projected up to 177,000 trips per day between Pinal County and Maricopa County by 2026.

"Commuter rail is a viable practical option for Queen Creek considering future traffic projections," she said.

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Regional planners recommend streetcar route in Tempe
by Katie Urbaszewski 
Jun. 17, 2010 11:06 AM
The Arizona Republic

Regional transit planners are going to recommend to Tempe City Council that Tempe have a streetcar on Mill and Southern avenues by 2016 to connect the city to the light-rail. But Chandler may have to wait for a planned bus rapid transit route for the same purpose until 2026, according to a presentation by planners Tuesday.

Funding availability was the meeting's main theme, as Valley Metro Rail project development director Wulf Grote explained that lower sales tax revenue would delay a bus rapid transit line along Rural Road from the light-rail line in Tempe down to Chandler Boulevard.

Bus rapid transit is a crucial part of extending public transportation and "should've been implemented sooner," but recession finances have not yet allowed it, Grote said.

A budget shortfall of $656 million from Proposition 400 funds set aside for bus development pushed plans to introduce the bus rapid transit line on Rural Road, which would cost about $60 million initially and $3.1 million annually, from 2015 to beyond 2026, Grote said.

But the completion date for the streetcar line along Mill Avenue, which would run from the light-rail line and turn on Southern Avenue down to Rural Road, is only being pushed back from 2015 to 2016.

Transit planners have also begun to look into Ash Avenue as an alternative to Mill Avenue in case the latter wouldn't be feasible, said Metro spokesman John Farry. Farry said this was in response to a suggestion from a past public meeting, and the analysis is only in its beginning stages.

The $162 million initial cost of the streetcar would most likely be funded by regional taxes and a Federal Transit Administration program called Small Starts, Grote said. The maximum funds Small Starts could provide are $75 million.

The annual costs for a streetcar line on Mill Avenue are also estimated to be $3.1 million.

Grote had much to say of the benefits of a streetcar investment, listing parks, museums, theaters and other public and private centers in Tempe that would see an increase in activity by being near streetcar stops.

Planners determined the benefit to the city's economy would be about 1.3 times the cost, Grote said.

Businesses in about a half-mile diameter of an interchange of a streetcar stop often get more access, Farry said.

Chandler Deputy Public Works Director Dan Cook said during the meeting that the streetcar line along Mill Avenue seemed like too small a project to improve public transportation in the region.

"How does a modern streetcar really fit into the regional context?" Cook asked Grote. "Two-and-a-half miles of track doesn't seem to benefit the region."

Grote responded that while this would be only the beginning of extensions into Tempe South (planners hope to analyze the possibility to extend the streetcar down Rural Road in the future), it's "probably a smaller project that we'd like to have because of funding."

Grote also said the bus rapid transit route along Rural Road "warrants an earlier implementation," but Metro's hands were tied due to revenue shortfalls.

Valley Metros OKs bus services reductions in West Valley
by Cecilia Chan 
Jun. 19, 2010 08:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Valley Metro board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved cuts in bus services because of declining revenues.

The cuts, which take effect July 26, include the elimination of two routes - the Surprise/Scottsdale Express that takes riders along Bullard Avenue in Surprise to Scottsdale Road and the Northwest Valley/Downtown Express, which travels between Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale to Montebello and 19th avenues.

Valley Metro Executive Director David Boggs explained that the service reductions Valley-wide were prompted by the elimination of the state Local Transportation Assistance Fund, which represents a $23-million-a-year hit to Maricopa County. The agency also saw a dramatic drop in sales-tax revenue. Arizona is now one of five states that don't help fund transit, according to Valley Metro officials.

No one from the public spoke on the issue at the meeting. However, residents had the chance to give their input at earlier public meetings.

A majority of the residents who spoke at the meetings or sent in their comments complained that the proposed cuts would affect their commute to work. Others said they had no other means of transportation.

Based on the comments, staffers tweaked the proposed changes and looked to reduce hours or frequency rather than eliminate routes where possible. And in situations where routes were eliminated, they tried to combine routes.

Route 660, a rural connector that takes riders from Wickenburg to Glendale, originally was on the chopping block. Wickenburg residents protested the elimination of their only bus route at a May public hearing in Glendale.

The approved changes call for eliminating Route 660's Saturday service instead.

The board is comprised of an elected official from each member community, including Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs, Surprise Mayor Lyn Truitt, El Mirage Mayor Michele Kern and Peoria Vice Mayor Ron Aames.

Declining revenues slow West Valley light-rail lines
by Cecilia Chan 
Jun. 22, 2010 11:22 AM
The Arizona Republic

Against the wishes of West Valley officials, Phoenix exercised its prerogative and delayed four light-rail corridors, including one in Glendale, due to declining revenues.

Each year, the Valley Metro Board of Directors revises the Light Rail Life Cycle Program that identifies project locations, their durations and costs based on forecasted revenues. The latest update estimated a $62 million deficit for 2010.

The board last week narrowly approved changes, which would result in a $400 million surplus by the end of the voter-approved plan in fiscal 2026, according to staff.

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said she could not support pushing back a 5-mile track proposed in Glendale to 2026 from 2019.

The proposed Glendale route is still under study, but possibilities include a route to downtown Glendale and several others to Westgate City Center. Scruggs was joined by all officials representing West Valley cities to vote against the delay.

The 16-member Valley Metro board is made up of elected officials of member municipalities, although not all members were present for last week's vote. The roll-call vote was 7-4. Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Gilbert voted for the delay.

Although the roll-call vote would have led to its defeat, Phoenix Councilman Michael Johnson, who chairs the board, called for a weighted vote.

By law Phoenix receives 40 percent of the vote because it has 40 percent or more of the population among the Valley Metro member agencies. The weighted vote gave a 55.8 percent advantage to the "yes" voters.

In April, the Rail Management Committee recommended that the board approve the changes.

Other delayed light-rail routes:
• Northwest Phase 1: to 2023 from 2012.
• Northwest Phase 2: to 2026 from 2018.
• Northeast Phoenix: to 2031 from 2030.

This edition of the Friends of Transit Weekly Update is sponsored by:

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