Glendale would benefit from light rail March 15th, 2008
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…
Sky Harbor vets automated train car firms March 15th, 2008
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
Valley cities considering new commuter systems March 4th, 2008
by Glen Creno in The Arizona Republic, Feb. 29, 2008
Plans for passenger rail in Arizona are moving forward, but significant hurdles remain before any system is built.
The Maricopa Association of Governments has released a long-awaited draft of its commuter-rail study, which outlines three options that would haul commuters from Phoenix suburbs into job centers in the central city. At the same time, key players in developing high-speed rail between Phoenix and Tucson have joined together to seek money to plan a system…
Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic
