Metro Phoenix Transit/Transportation Developments

[biggus diggus]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I did recently discover that one Moon Valley neighborhood has fresh roads to drive on.

The City is working on that area now. Coral Gables and Cave Creek are two roads that will have new pavement by end of summer.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Exactly, nothing unusual 'bout a politician taking advantage of another's self-inflicted wounds. Badly under-funding road maintenance seldom ends well.

Back in 2015, Sal criticized the fine print of Proposition 104, noting that the funds promised for public transit could potentially be reallocated for any use. Now that Proposition 104 is reality and there has been a power vacuum at city hall, he's all too happy to reallocate funds in a way that suits his agenda.

[DesertRay]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Did you ever happen to read...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...e-oil-industry

I hadn't seen that, but I know that China is moving at light speed when it comes to electrification. It is going to come WAY faster than many think, and if Detroit sleeps for about five more minutes, they are not going to catch up. Tesla is a fun punchline, but they are growing exponentially so that they can merely try to catch China. I honestly think we may be left with Tesla, a few startup US companies, BMW, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and a bunch of Chinese companies by the time the dust settles in 2035.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

The City is working on that area now. Coral Gables and Cave Creek are two roads that will have new pavement by end of summer.

The Moon Valley area is part of my daily ride as it's around my neighborhood. The section of Coral Gables West of 7th Ave was paved a few months ago and I'm so glad it was. In some spots, it vibrated my hands to death and I would ride on the sidewalks just to get off the road. It's pretty smooth now. When I rode through yesterday, they were milling the portion of Coral Gables East of 7th Ave and getting it ready for paving.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

The City is working on that area now. Coral Gables and Cave Creek are two roads that will have new pavement by end of summer.

For the record... when I end up driving to the SE metro at night I generally 'deadhead' to Talking Stick. I have no desire to work the (drunk) scene in Tempe at night. During the day I'll accept a couple of trips nearby (to see if I end up back in Scottsdale). I have now learned where Queen Creek is... freaking long drive even from the airport.

When I end up somewhere in Phoenix I'll stay and play. For example, I picked up three nice young Hispanics who worked at Tutti Santi by Nina (64th and Greenway) to a mobile home park along Cave Creek. I've ended up getting trips in Sunnyslope, Metro Center and 19th to 27th avenues between Pinnacle Peak and Happy Valley areas and never had any problems. A couple of times, I've picked up and loaded my CR-V with groceries for the trip home and I'm happy to serve this need.

On St Patrick's Day I picked up near 19th ave and Cactus a couple of guys all decked out in green hats etc and dropped at a shopping area near Bell Rd and 35th(?) ave where there was a tent set up in the parking area with live band etc. I was very jealous but my younger days are well behind me. Couple of trips later I ended up driving from near Cave Creek Rd and Rose Garden to (OTS) or Old Town. Never know where I'm going but I go.

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Back in 2015, Sal criticized the fine print of Proposition 104, noting that the funds promised for public transit could potentially be reallocated for any use. Now that Proposition 104 is reality and there has been a power vacuum at city hall, he's all too happy to reallocate funds in a way that suits his agenda.

Honestly, I don't like Sal or his positions and antics in the slightest but Prop 104 failed miserably to take care of Job One. That has nothing to do with Sal.

[ASU Diablo]

do we know when we can an expect a ruling on the lawsuit against Building a Better Phoenix ballot measure?

[biggus diggus]

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

The Moon Valley area is part of my daily ride as it's around my neighborhood. The section of Coral Gables West of 7th Ave was paved a few months ago and I'm so glad it was. In some spots, it vibrated my hands to death and I would ride on the sidewalks just to get off the road. It's pretty smooth now. When I rode through yesterday, they were milling the portion of Coral Gables East of 7th Ave and getting it ready for paving.

I assume you are talking about bicycle riding. We used to call the section from 7th Ave to 7th Street Cobble Gables. The new pavement east of 7th is nice and it'll be nice when they do the rest. Ripping around the Moon Valley loop is always fun, used to train a lot on that loop.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

do we know when we can an expect a ruling on the lawsuit against Building a Better Phoenix ballot measure?

The hearing on the injunction to stop the measure from getting on the ballot is set for next week--April 10 and 11. So we can expect a ruling on the 11th or shortly thereafter.

[exit2lef]

I went to a presentation this afternoon by Scott Smith, CEO of Valley Metro, at the CityScape offices of Downtown Phoenix Inc. He gave a nice talk about the history and future prospects of light rail, including the potential impact of the anti-rail initiative on the ballot. Of course, Building a Better Phoenix folks showed up and tried to take over the meeting. Thank the head of Downtown Phoenix Inc. for politely but firmly reminding the interlopers that they were guests there and should abide by expectations of civil discussion. Mel Martin, one of the people behind Building a Better Phoenix, kept saying this whole issue could have been avoided by going with a four-lane design. Smith politely asked why then have they put all future expansion of light rail, not just the South Central extension, on the ballot. Martin didn't have an answer.

[phoenixwillrise]

It is a shame that they couldn't have built light rail at minimum to GCU. The ridership would have been huge with that growing campus which would have also connected those on campus students to the heart of the City and east. Too many myopic planners in this city and that is why freeways were put off for so long and ended up costing so much more and why a Bart, Marta type system was voted down in the 70's. Sad.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by phoenixwillrise

It is a shame that they couldn't have built light rail at minimum to GCU. The ridership would have been huge with that growing campus which would have also connected those on campus students to the heart of the City and east.

I wholeheartedly agree with the GCU part.

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I went to a presentation this afternoon by Scott Smith, CEO of Valley Metro, at the CityScape offices of Downtown Phoenix Inc.

Very interesting but not surprising. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed da judge will rule against them so they can go suck eggs.

[exit2lef]

Jessica Boehm of the Republic looks into the current status of light rail expansion and wonders if Mayor Kate Gallego will be able to restore momentum:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...it/3247182002/

One important factor is overlooked in the article, though. As I've mentioned before, the candidates most inclined to support the South Central extension did not do as well as expected in the recent city council elections. In District 8, one of two districts through which the South Central extension will pass, neither candidate going to the run-off has a record of consistent support.

With that in mind, I can envision a scenario in which the courts remove the Building a Better Phoenix initiative from the ballot, but South Central remains stalled due to lukewarm council support and lack of priority in the eyes of the Federal Transit Administration. In that case, we may see only MetroCenter and the Capitol / I-10 line as the focus on expansion efforts in the near term.

[exit2lef]

Here's some coverage from the Downtown Devil of the meeting I attended yesterday:

https://downtowndevil.com/2019/04/03...eting-rebecca/

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

One important factor is overlooked in the article, though. As I've mentioned before, the candidates most inclined to support the South Central extension did not do as well as expected in the recent city council elections. In District 8, one of two districts through which the South Central extension will pass, neither candidate going to the run-off has a record of consistent support.

With that in mind, I can envision a scenario in which the courts remove the Building a Better Phoenix initiative from the ballot, but South Central remains stalled due to lukewarm council support and lack of priority in the eyes of the Federal Transit Administration. In that case, we may see only MetroCenter and the Capitol / I-10 line as the focus on expansion efforts in the near term.

Elections are always interesting. Oftentimes candidates will intentionally equivocate on controversial issues. The last time McCain ran for the Senate I didn't vote for him based on what he said during campaign season; I voted for him because I knew who he was and chuckled at what he said in order to get reelected. It's tricky to predict how candidates may respond once elected, unless you happen to know them personally and even then it's possible that their spouse wouldn't know.

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Here's some coverage from the Downtown Devil of the meeting I attended yesterday:

https://downtowndevil.com/2019/04/03...eting-rebecca/

I was always impressed with Scott Smith when he was Mesa's mayor. I'm still impressed.

While anything can be worthy of discussion the recent (last decade) of liberals creating environmental racism conspiracies is a bunch of malarkey. Why do educated people build cases around correlation pretending its the same thing as causation? Consider the conundrum. This area has always been overlooked ie not invested in. OK here's an investment proposal. Oh my but what if we get gentrified. Answer is: Pick Your Poison and live with it; forget the conspiracies.

[DesertRay]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

While anything can be worthy of discussion the recent (last decade) of liberals creating environmental racism conspiracies is a bunch of malarkey. Why do educated people build cases around correlation pretending its the same thing as causation? Consider the conundrum. This area has always been overlooked ie not invested in. OK here's an investment proposal. Oh my but what if we get gentrified. Answer is: Pick Your Poison and live with it; forget the conspiracies.

I agree with the notion that gentrification vs. blight is a tough call, but let's not pretend that there hasn't been REALLY well-documented redlining, segregation, and purposeful neglect along racial lines. And lest you think this is a red/blue liberal/conservative thing, this was started in 1934 in housing, was carried out through the New Deal (the height of liberalism), and has been reinforced through every political party and administration.

A "Forgotten History" details this, but you can look at how banks jack up rates for other loans and rates WAY beyond actuary tables and risk to see how this is widespread.

Hilariously enough, the light rail would actually help alleviate some of this history by reconnecting the community with transit and finance. It's super complicated.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by DesertRay

I agree with the notion that gentrification vs. blight is a tough call, but let's not pretend that there hasn't been REALLY well-documented redlining, segregation, and purposeful neglect along racial lines. And lest you think this is a red/blue liberal/conservative thing, this was started in 1934 in housing, was carried out through the New Deal (the height of liberalism), and has been reinforced through every political party and administration.

A "Forgotten History" details this, but you can look at how banks jack up rates for other loans and rates WAY beyond actuary tables and risk to see how this is widespread.

Hilariously enough, the light rail would actually help alleviate some of this history by reconnecting the community with transit and finance. It's super complicated.

I referenced the last decade. I'll give you three decades of relevancy. Conflating the issue by assuming what happened in 1933 is pointless and irrelevant. I understand real discrimination at an institutional level happened; the country once had slaves; things change.

My activism goes back to the late 1960's. Can you name the singer/songwriter's song that became the anthem for the Civil Rights Movement?

[Obadno]

Old Hippies swapping war stories.

[DesertRay]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Old Hippies swapping war stories.

LOL. I WISH I was a hippie. I wasn't even in utero during the summer of love. I listen to a lot of songs from that era. Good times.

I haven't met a hippie that thinks that every problem has been solved, even if we've moved the ball a bit. It takes time to change institutionalized discrimination (and not everything is caused by discrimination, as you noted, even if not everything is just correlative). Hell...even Trump's signature on prison reform moves the ball a bit on changing the institutional problems that we still have. Like I said, it's complicated. The times, they are a changing--people (better) get ready, (because) we shall overcome.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Here's some coverage from the Downtown Devil of the meeting I attended yesterday:

https://downtowndevil.com/2019/04/03...eting-rebecca/

Good. How is meeting doing yesterday? I hope they will continue to used light rail. They should listen to Scott Smith or everyone else. They can not be kill light rail projects. Light rail is here to stay. They are not going anywhere.

[mdpx]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

The last time McCain ran for the Senate I didn't vote for him based on what he said during campaign season; I voted for him because I knew who he was and chuckled at what he said in order to get reelected.

That is the very reason our country is screwed up now. Nevermind the hypocrisy people use to get elected, it doesn't matter. It sure the F matters. Jesus.