Arizona Rail Passenger Association

Casey Newton, a reporter covering Phoenix City Hall (as the “Hall Pass blog”) for The Arizona Republic, recently interviewed [full article link] Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic congressman from Oregon. A few highlights:

Hall Pass: You’ve advocated for light rail in Phoenix for years. What do you make of what you see?

Blumenauer: The thing I’ve heard is that there’s like $6 billion in investment, and the line’s not even open. It’s been a fascinating evolution for me to watch. Look at the challenges that you faced. There is some very entrenched, almost theological opposition to transit. And then look at the changes that are taking place. I find it encouraging.

It’s underway. It’s already influencing development patterns. And it’s coming at just the right time…

…communities that are invested in rail are consistently showing not just new development, but new development that is located in a way that doesn’t put a strain on the community. That the investments that are being made enhance transportation choices for people. These are people that aren’t going to have to burn a gallon of gas to buy a gallon of milk. That they can walk to theaters and walk to work or walk to restaurants or take a short trip. It helps you with a modest air quality problem you’ve got here. It deals with congestion. And something that is very important, it puts more money in people’s pockets. For most American families, transportation is the No. 2 expenditure. And if you do a rigorous accounting, for a number of folks it’s actually the top expenditure.

Rest of the story

According to the East Valley Tribune (see full story in the 15 March edition):

Mayor Hugh Hallman’s re-election was practically assured before the polls opened… Hallman, the only mayoral candidate on the ballot, received 12,839 votes, according to the official results…

Hallman, in an Arizona Republic Election Question Special, said:

…we need to continue our lead in moving the outer communities to commuter rail options to reduce the growing pressure on local freeways..

Also according to the Tribune,

Mark Mitchell [incumbent] was the only candidate to win outright… The other incumbent in the race, Hut Hutson, did not win outright and faces a four-way runoff on May 20 for the remaining two seats against challengers Julie Jakubek, Joel Navarro and Corey Woods…

Mitchell, in the Republic special, said he wants to work on:

working with our Scottsdale and Chandler city councils to extend light rail to their communities. …[and] start looking at whether commuter rail would help alleviate congestion on our roadways.

Commentary by Joel Nilsson, 21 February 2008:

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs and the City Council have an extraordinary ambitious priority for this year — the rebirth and revitalization of Glendale Avenue into a true urban village, where people live and work…

I was disappointed that Mayor Scruggs failed to mention light rail in her talk. I believe it could be and should be a big part of the solution. A light rail line down Glendale Avenue would be a strong catalyst for economic investment.

The record in cities with light rail is pretty clear: Rail lines attract businesses and people. We’ve seen it occur across the west and it is happening in Phoenix as the Valley’s 20-mile starter line is nearing completion…

Rest of the story

Plans to build a $1.1 billion automated train system [link: Sky Harbor site] for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport are moving full steam ahead, says Jay DeWitt, special projects administrator for the automated train.

The driverless, 4.8-mile system is supposed to ease traffic congestion around Sky Harbor. It’s similar to trains at Dallas/Fort Worth and other U.S. airports.

Phoenix is vetting proposals from three firms that want to design and build the train cars…

Photos and rest of the story on Jahna Berry’s blog on The Arizona Republic site