Metro Phoenix Transit/Transportation Developments

[Phxguy]

I work for Waymo in Chandler. Highly competetive between Uber, Waymo, and Crusie all on Valley streets. All I can say is the future with self-driving cars is exciting! Check them out guys!

[exit2lef]

I just noticed this ranking of metro areas by jobs accessible via public transit. Phoenix is not among the top 10 cities by that metric, but it is among the 10 most-improved cities. In other words, there appears to be movement in the direction of less car dependence even as the metro area continues to grow.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/11/...ransit-riders/

[muertecaza]

Generally positive national coverage of self-driving cars in AZ.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/t...iving-hub.html

[TAZ4ate0]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Generally positive national coverage of self-driving cars in AZ.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/t...iving-hub.html

The article says that Phoenix is a sprawling metro of 1.4 million. Do these reporters ever check their facts? Try the fact that Metro Phoenix is at least 4.6 million or more...in 5 years minimum, it will be 5 million.

The city of Phoenix alone is now around 1.5 mill

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by TAZ4ate0

The article says that Phoenix is a sprawling metro of 1.4 million. Do these reporters ever check their facts? Try the fact that Metro Phoenix is at least 4.6 million or more...in 5 years minimum, it will be 5 million.

The city of Phoenix alone is now around 1.5 mill

It doesn't say metro, it says metropolis. Most dictionaries equate that word to city, not metropolitan area. 1.4 million was the 2010 census figure for Phoenix.

[TAZ4ate0]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

It doesn't say metro, it says metropolis. Most dictionaries equate that word to city, not metropolitan area. 1.4 million was the 2010 census figure for Phoenix.

Right on. I won't argue that. For some reason though, I interpreted it as meaning the whole metropolitan area.

[TAZ4ate0]

Originally Posted by TAZ4ate0

The article says that Phoenix is a sprawling metro of 1.4 million. Do these reporters ever check their facts? Try the fact that Metro Phoenix is at least 4.6 million or more...in 5 years minimum, it will be 5 million.

The city of Phoenix alone is now around 1.5 mill

*5 years maximum. Oops, thats what I ment.

STOOPID beer fingers.:

Don't drink and post

[Phxguy]

https://asunow.asu.edu/20171108-ariz...edium=facebook

I can understand the desire to upgrade bus stops and I'm sure these will look nicer than the ones we have now, but I'm still concerned about the lack of shade. Only when the sun is at its apogee in summer is the shade maximized. The bus stops that lack shade or even so much as a bench should be top priority.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by Phxguy

https://asunow.asu.edu/20171108-ariz...edium=facebook

I can understand the desire to upgrade bus stops and I'm sure these will look nicer than the ones we have now, but I'm still concerned about the lack of shade. Only when the sun is at its apogee in summer is the shade maximized. The bus stops that lack shade or even so much as a bench should be top priority.

I've always questioned this with the light rail stations as well. There have been times I've taken the light rail and had to fight to find some shade at the stations. I don't think the designers/planners really use public transit. They just make a paycheck off of thinking it looks good enough.

[Phxguy]

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

I've always questioned this with the light rail stations as well. There have been times I've taken the light rail and had to fight to find some shade at the stations. I don't think the designers/planners really use public transit. They just make a paycheck off of thinking it looks good enough.

Public transportation users in the Valley are sorely neglected. Something so simple as to get people out of the sun...in the DESERT...apparently isn't so common sense.

[exit2lef]

The new bus shelters look better than the current ones in terms of providing shade, but I don't know if they address the biggest problem: If a bus shelter's design requires the passenger to stand inside or behind it in order to enjoy the shade, the passenger risks not seeing an approaching bus and, more importantly, having the bus driver not see him or her. This is not so much an issue with light rail because the trains stop at every station every time. With the bus, however, if the driver sees no waiting passengers, the bus will bypass the stop. I can think of times when I've waited for a bus in Phoenix and have found myself ducking in and out of the shade every minute or two just to be sure I don't miss an approaching bus. It's not clear if this new design addresses that problem.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I just noticed this ranking of metro areas by jobs accessible via public transit. Phoenix is not among the top 10 cities by that metric, but it is among the 10 most-improved cities. In other words, there appears to be movement in the direction of less car dependence even as the metro area continues to grow.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/11/...ransit-riders/

The Business Journal provides more coverage of these rankings. Despite the headline about being behind competitors, the article is pretty balanced.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...lines-but.html

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

The new bus shelters look better than the current ones in terms of providing shade, but I don't know if they address the biggest problem: If a bus shelter's design requires the passenger to stand inside or behind it in order to enjoy the shade, the passenger risks not seeing an approaching bus and, more importantly, having the bus driver not see him or her. This is not so much an issue with light rail because the trains stop at every station every time. With the bus, however, if the driver sees no waiting passengers, the bus will bypass the stop. I can think of times when I've waited for a bus in Phoenix and have found myself ducking in and out of the shade every minute or two just to be sure I don't miss an approaching bus. It's not clear if this new design addresses that problem.

I also wonder about the design of bus stops historically. It would seem to me that they were mainly designed to keep rain and snow, not to maximize shade. Two different goals, likely need a design revolution for the desert.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Phxguy

https://asunow.asu.edu/20171108-ariz...edium=facebook

I can understand the desire to upgrade bus stops and I'm sure these will look nicer than the ones we have now, but I'm still concerned about the lack of shade. Only when the sun is at its apogee in summer is the shade maximized. The bus stops that lack shade or even so much as a bench should be top priority.

I'm impressed. ABC15 also carried the story today and they were just talking about this on Mac & Gaydos.


Rendering courtesy of ASU via ABC15

From the linked ASU piece:

Their stop looks sleek, but as anyone who has waited for a bus in Phoenix during the summer will tell you, it’s shade that counts.

Shade was the top priority. The stops also had to be ADA-compliant. Being vandal-proof was another necessity.

The stop provides shade no matter what time of day or what angle the sun is striking it. “We took inspiration from a sundial,” Fancher said. “No matter where the sun is, there will always be shade.” The team ran the design through a computer simulation of 12 hours of sun. It provides shelter at any time of day, when the sun is at any angle.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I'm impressed. ABC15 also carried the story today and they were just talking about this on Mac & Gaydos.


Rendering courtesy of ASU via ABC15

From the linked ASU piece:

I suspect the much of the audience for Mac-&-Cheese would view bus riders as barely deserving any shelter at all. (Obviously, I'm not a fan of talk radio.) As I mentioned earlier, though, I still don't see how this design solves the visibility problem. Can a passenger stay in the shade yet still be visible to the driver of an approaching bus?

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I'm impressed. ABC15 also carried the story today and they were just talking about this on Mac & Gaydos.


Rendering courtesy of ASU via ABC15

From the linked ASU piece:

And who says Phoenix doesn't have creative tech? Voila!!

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Generally positive national coverage of self-driving cars in AZ.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/t...iving-hub.html

Nice find. That's a great article. I knew bits and pieces is all.

Related - to autonomous cars - is a fun piece I recently read in MarketWatch.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/he...ves-2017-10-24

Since the U.S. car fleet went fully automated a few years ago, the speed limit has increased and congestion has eased, so your trip will take less than an hour. Today’s cars and trucks aren’t just faster and more efficient. Their very shapes have changed, turning them into spaces to work or rest as you travel.

They’re also safer — so much so that municipalities have cut police and first responder budgets in half. Auto insurance costs a few dollars a year. And many people now use shared “transportation as a service” networks instead of owning a vehicle, saving them thousands.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I suspect the much of the audience for Mac-&-Cheese would view bus riders as barely deserving any shelter at all. (Obviously, I'm not a fan of talk radio.)

Mac & Gaydos is sometimes good and not. Actually it hits the afternoon spot in doses. Good humor and 'reasonable' politics makes it a nice anecdote to the other trash. Speaking of the trash I often dose off to their repeats; it helps keep my critical thinking skills up and at may age that's a good thing.

Originally Posted by exit2lef

As I mentioned earlier, though, I still don't see how this design solves the visibility problem. Can a passenger stay in the shade yet still be visible to the driver of an approaching bus?

Sorry, I can't solve all your problems.

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

And who says Phoenix doesn't have creative tech? Voila!!

Exactly

[ASU Diablo]

Curious to see what these development plans will look like and details associated with them...

https://azbigmedia.com/valley-partne...t-at-airports/

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by airomero83

Curious to see what these development plans will look like and details associated with them...

https://azbigmedia.com/valley-partne...t-at-airports/

Yeah I'm very interested in what there plans are for the former barrio area and how that will turn out.

Its interesting that they used some kind of noise zone as a way to buy out properties in the area.