Metro Phoenix Transit/Transportation Developments

[phxbyrd]

why do they say four routes were delayed and then not say which 4 they were?

[combusean]

Delaying Northwest Phase 1 for ELEVEN YEARS? on top of further delays?! W. T. F. ?!

[phxbyrd]

Is the northwest the one that's supposed to go up 19th to Dunlap? If so WTF, Gordon went on CNN 2 YEARS AGO saying it was shovel ready.

[Sekkle]

^ It is shovel ready, they just don't have money to build it. The NW extension has no federal funding associated with it at this point, so they are relying on prop 400 sales tax revenue, which is significantly lower than originally projected.

The Mesa extension, on the other hand, will receive federal matching funds, so construction is expected to proceed as scheduled (well, 2016 instead of 2015 now, but not an 11-year delay).

[mwadswor]

Originally Posted by HarbRenovations

They are proposing all these additions to the Light Rail, yet they are taking ages to make the rail to the Sky Harbor Airport.

What's the deal?

They're not proposing additions, they're delaying additions that were proposed, approved, and funded (at least partially) by prop 400 6 years ago. The train into sky harbor is an unrelated (though obviously coordinated) project. If you haven't been through sky harbor recently, I highly recommend it, construction appears to be moving along nicely, and the height of the thing is truly impressive.

Originally Posted by phxbyrd

why do they say four routes were delayed and then not say which 4 they were?

They did, you just have to read more than the first paragraph.

From the article, the Glendale line and:

• Northwest Phase 1: to 2023 from 2012.

• Northwest Phase 2: to 2026 from 2018.

• Northeast Phoenix: to 2031 from 2030.

What I find interesting is that they're counting the Northwest line as 2 lines, which is particularly interesting since last I heard they still don't have any plan (or permission from ADOT) to cross I-17 regardless of their construction timetable. That's why they split it into 2 phases in the first place, so ADOT was only holding up the line past I-17.

Originally Posted by Sekkle

^ It is shovel ready, they just don't have money to build it. The NW extension has no federal funding associated with it at this point, so they are relying on prop 400 sales tax revenue, which is significantly lower than originally projected.

As I recall, the project never applied for federal funds so they could speed it up by not doing some of the studies that federal funds require, but state and county funds do not. Does anyone know if they can at least apply for any sort of current or future stimulus money without those studies since the project is shovel ready?

[Don B.]

Sales tax revenue may be coming back in Phoenix. We may have bottomed out and are starting to climb out of the hole. This was according to an article the other day in the Arizona Republic, which I'm too lazy to find now. Then again, this could be a dead cat bounce, especially if the SB 1070 boycott gathers traction and hoses us.

--don

[HooverDam]

Phoenix approves airline incentives for more international flights

38 comments by Emily Gersema - Jun. 25, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Phoenix officials want to increase the number of international flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport by offering airlines a financial incentive.

The City Council this week unanimously approved a package that allows Sky Harbor to provide $285,000 to $900,000 in support for airlines to start new international flights, with intercontinental routes receiving the most support. The bulk of the money would help cover the airline's cost of marketing the flights. Charter flights wouldn't qualify.


Money for the program comes from the Aviation Department, which is self-sustaining through various fees charged to airlines and airport users. The airport receives no general-fund support. Each airline that decides to add a new international route would need City Council approval to obtain the marketing funds.

Sky Harbor has 19 international flights. Most fly to cities in Canada and Mexico, although city officials believe demand exists for non-stop flights to Asia. No airline offers non-stop flights to Asia from Phoenix.

"We basically are, in some markets, underserved," Deputy City Manager David Krietor said.

Phoenix officials and industry experts note that most airports nationwide already have such incentives, positioning them to generate more revenue for their local economies by drawing more visitors to their cities.

Oregon's Portland International Airport, for example, subsidizes flights to Tokyo by Delta Air Lines.

International flights are lucrative business. Every international route that runs through Phoenix to Europe drums up $440,000 in annual revenue for the Phoenix Aviation Department and about $100 million in annual revenue for the Valley and state, according to the department.

Councilwoman Thelda Williams said incentives are necessary for Sky Harbor to become more competitive with busier hubs, such as Los Angeles International Airport, which overshadows Phoenix's international traffic. Los Angeles offers 1,000 non-stop flights to 65 international destinations each week.

"We've got tough competition," Williams said. "Everybody's going after the same limited carriers."

Phoenix faces a hurdle that busier hubs don't worry about: filling business and first-class seats.

Industry experts say it is critical that the market provide enough of those high-paying passengers to make creation of an international route worthy of an airline's investment.

An airline may spend hundreds of millions of dollars to start and operate a new international route.

Marketing is a small portion of the cost, but Bob Mann, an industry consultant with R.W. Mann & Co. in New York, said that advertising "is an attempt by the airlines to rally support from the local community."

US Airways and British Airways representatives were noncommittal on whether they would take advantage of the incentives. They said they are constantly weighing whether to add flights.

Mayor Phil Gordon believes Phoenix can fill the business and first-class seats. He said he is urging Singapore Airlines to consider adding routes to Phoenix, and he hopes Emirates will add flights from Phoenix to Middle Eastern cities.

Phoenix also still longs for Lufthansa, which ended flights to Frankfurt, Germany, from Phoenix in 2003.

Gordon believes Lufthansa and other airlines could be attracted by Sky Harbor's low fees and reliability.

"The trains run on time all the time, so to speak," Gordon said. "They don't have too many delays."


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...#ixzz0rzwXXHqK

Welp this sounds good, I was unaware of this whole systems existence but anything that brings more international trade and tourism to Phoenix/AZ seems like a good thing.

[Evil Empire]

Since the decrease in sales tax revenue caused the MASSIVE delay in the building of the future lines, do you think they'll move up the projected dates once the sales tax revenue increases again?

[Tempe_Duck]

I need some help. I am writing a paper about the benefits of mass transit, one of the topics is how light rail and BRT have a positive impact on the environment. I am having some problems finding sources to back this up. Can someone please help me or at least point me in the correct direction?

Thanks

[Phxguy]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...moted0714.html
here's an article

[Tempe_Duck]

Originally Posted by Phxguy

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...moted0714.html
here's an article

Thanks that should help with the development aspect , still looking for positive environmental impact.

[mwadswor]

Originally Posted by Tempe_Duck

I need some help. I am writing a paper about the benefits of mass transit, one of the topics is how light rail and BRT have a positive impact on the environment. I am having some problems finding sources to back this up. Can someone please help me or at least point me in the correct direction?

Thanks

I can't think of any research paper worthy sources of the top of my head, you might try posting your question out in the general transportation forum to get a wider range of responses.

Some web sources that I like to follow that will probably link to good sources if you read back a couple posts are:

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's blog

Basically anything written by Steve Hymon (he reports on LA transit, but he has a lot of info about general transit)

The Overhead Wire

The California High Speed Rail blog

The Phoenix light rail blog

[combusean]

I think putting the line's passenger counts into context is useful:

If the line averages let's say, 35,000 riders a day... the freeways average 130,000 - 200,000 a day, it's conceivable that you're taking somewhere 20% of cars if most people using the light rail would otherwise be on the freeway.

http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/data/aadt.asp

[mwadswor]

Phoenix committee begins study of 'suicide lanes'
Lynh Bui - Jul. 17, 2010 07:12 AM


The controversial reversible lanes on Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street in Phoenix will get another look as a committee of residents prepares to study the issue this summer.

The committee is set to meet in August or September, a little more than a year after the Phoenix City Council agreed to form the group and delayed voting on whether to eliminate the lanes from Phoenix streets.

The ad hoc committee is charged with studying the reversible lanes and striking compromise between critics who want to get rid of what they call "suicide lanes" and proponents who say the lanes alleviate rush hour traffic in and out of downtown Phoenix.

The group could finally bring a solution to the reversible-lane debate that has been going on since the first one came online in 1979.

The reversible-lanes run from McDowell Road to Northern Avenue on Seventh Avenue and from McDowell Road to Dunlap Avenue on Seventh Street.

During most of the day, the lanes act as traditional center turn lanes. But, the rules change during morning and evening rush hour, when drivers are allowed to use them for through traffic.

During rush hour, left turns aren't allowed at intersections with lights, prompting some drivers to turn left between intersections into neighborhoods and cut through residential areas.

The lanes were designed to be thoroughfares into and out of Phoenix when freeways such as Arizona 51 didn't exist, city traffic engineer Kerry Wilcoxon said.

"The city didn't really have a lot of north/south capacity of any mode at the time," Wilcoxon said. "They put in the reverse lane as a way to add capacity into and out of downtown for the rush hour."

Residents who absorb the cut through traffic say the lanes are dangerous because drivers are blowing through neighborhood streets above posted speed limits. They want the reversible lanes eliminated.

Business owners along Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue also say the lanes confuse drivers and keep people from coming into their shops.

Teresa Stickler is the owner of Melrose Pharmacy near Seventh Avenue and Indian School Road. She said some of her customers who need refills will skip taking their medicine to avoid driving in the reversible lanes during rush hour for prescription pick ups.

"The neighborhoods in central Phoenix shouldn't have to suffer because of what another neighborhood wants," said Stickler, who is also chair of the ad hoc committee reviewing the lanes.

Councilman Tom Simplot represents District 4, where most of the neighborhoods affected by the traffic patterns from reverse lanes are located. Simplot appointed Stickler to chair the committee.

"If you live in one of the many historic districts, there are certain times of the day it can be very difficult to get to your home," said Simplot, who has been in favor of eliminating the lanes. "It's definitely a safety issue."

Studies from the city show the rate of accidents on Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street are no higher than other north-south roads in the area, said Wilcoxon.

Simplot said, however, not all traffic incidents on the "Sevens" are reported to police. Councilman Bill Gates, who represents District 3, said many of his constituents use the reverse lanes to cut commutes to and from downtown Phoenix.

"It allows traffic to move as smoothly as possible," Gates said. "It's important that we continue to have the lanes, but I'm pleased that we have this ad hoc committee taking a look at what we can do to make it safer to travel the reversible lanes that limits the negative impact on the surrounding community."

Gate's appointee, John Batlis, has been using the reserve lanes for about 20 years to get in and out of downtown.

Baltis said it's important that all committee members keep open minds on the issue to come up with compromise for all sides.

"Without those lanes, traffic could become a lot worse during rush hour," Baltis said. "At the same time, everybody recognizes the reverse lane does present safety issues."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...ide-lanes.html

[mwadswor]

Valley to get modern ramp-metering lights
by Sean Holstege
Jul. 20, 2010 12:00 AM

Freeways in the Valley are on the verge of getting more sophisticated ramp-metering lights to help reduce freeway-clogging knots of traffic.

Arizona's busiest stretch of freeway could have the most advanced on-ramp-metering lights in the world by the fall, according to a state researcher who has developed a sophisticated way to predict traffic flow.

In a monthlong experiment, the lights will be installed in the Broadway Curve area of Interstate 10 in Tempe, in hopes of sparing motorists about a third of the time they waste sitting in congestion. Computer models predict the freeway will accommodate more cars without reducing speeds. If the experiment is successful, the system could be expanded Valley-wide.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Department of Transportation also is set to modernize in a year the existing 180 Valley ramp-metering lights, many of which were installed in the early 1990s.

There are roughly 400 ramps, but most are not metered.

Both advances are part of a larger strategy to develop "intelligent" transportation systems, which use technology to squeeze the most efficiency out of highways.

The improvements are being paid for out of funds from a half-cent sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2006. Proposition 400 set aside $140 million for such systems until 2025.

Other innovations to improve traffic flow in Arizona include electronic-message signs, which advise motorists about expected travel times or accidents ahead, and the 511 system, which uses embedded road sensors and mounted cameras to provide up-to-the-minute traffic conditions over the phone and Internet.

Other U.S. cities have introduced intelligent systems such as remote electronic toll collection, automated reversible lanes on freeways and variable speed-limit signs.

How metering works

Ramp-metering lights are one of the earliest, simplest and most common intelligent-transportation concepts.

But the lights are controversial, with many drivers questioning their value, especially when signals are operating on days traffic is light, such as holidays.

Arizona has two kinds of lights. The oldest and simplest are set to timers. When the carpool-lane hours are in effect, the ramps are metered, with green and red lights flashing at set intervals. Off-peak, the lights go off.

The other kind works by adjusting the cycle of the lights to the volume of traffic at the ramp. Embedded sensors in the ramps tell the light system how far back the line of cars stretches, and freeway sensors measure traffic volume. Generally, the more cars that need to merge, the shorter the lights stay red.

The drawback is that the metering lights adjust for traffic only at their location, not along nearby ramps and stretches of freeway.

Many motorists find ramp lights frustrating. They wonder why they have to wait when there is room on the freeway to merge.

But the way ramp lights work is counterintuitive.

Stopping for a light forces merging drivers to take turns, rather than try to squeeze into a single lane of heavy traffic together. Consequently, vehicles on both the ramps and freeway move faster.

"You have to slow people down in order to speed them up," said Sarath Joshua, who manages the intelligent-transportation program for the Maricopa Association of Governments.

"Traffic is like water, and on-ramps are like turbulence in the water," he said. Plus, "in traffic, you have backups, rear-end crashes, sideswipes, and these create their own delays."

Ramp metering has proven benefits. In 2000, traffic engineers in Minnesota, responding to complaints, turned metering lights off for eight weeks.

They found that the freeway could handle 14 percent less traffic volume before getting congested and that the crash rate increased 26 percent. People needed more time to get where they were going.

An improved system

A MAG technical panel recommended last month that ADOT make improving the existing metering lights in the Valley its top priority.

Using the Proposition 400 money, MAG wants to begin wiring freeway ramps to communicate with a control center. The agency says controllers in the region's Traffic Operations Center could monitor traffic and make up-to-the-minute adjustments to the meters to get the most out of the system.

Many U.S. cities already have such systems.

"The problem is we still cannot do anything to override the metering lights," Joshua said. "It's important because it gives us the ability to respond to changing conditions."

With the upgrade, traffic engineers could preprogram unique cycles for holidays or manually change the metering cycle if they see traffic backing up or thinning out.

Work on the control-center system isn't set to begin for a year and will take a year to complete.

Modern meters

Research at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona promises a more intriguing advance.

Researchers have spent 10 years developing powerful software that uses sensors in highways, on-ramps and connecting surface streets to predict highway-traffic flows for up to 40 minutes.

More importantly, the computer models analyze data for a series of on-ramps so that one ramp-metering light can communicate with others nearby. This enables a string of interchanges to synchronize and more efficiently manage traffic flows.

"Nothing like this exists anywhere in the world," said Pitu Mirchandani, a professor who runs the project from his ASU traffic-engineering lab.

He said he hopes to run a full-scale experiment this summer on 8 miles of I-10 between Broadway and Ray roads.

The only impediment is getting the hardware to communicate. Once that's resolved, Mirchandani said, a month's worth of data will tell him if his computer models work.

He said he is 80 percent confident they will. If he's right, expanding the concept throughout the Valley would not be overly expensive. It would require entering traffic data for all the highways into the computer models and wiring existing ramp lights to communicate. Exact costs are unknown.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...ng-lights.html

I don't understand why they're working on both the software solution and the control center at the same time. If the software solution talked about at the end of the article is cheaper to implement and it ends up working on the test section of road, why wouldn't they implement that and save the money that they were going to spend on the control center?

[glynnjamin]

First off - why do we have to look at the suicide lanes every 6 months? Just leave them alone. They are fine. People who can't navigate them deserve to get into wrecks.

Secondly, the god damn Broadway curve is a nightmare for one reason and one reason alone - the 143 onramp. Close it and traffic improves by 20% - guaranteed. Almost NONE of those people are trying to get on the US60 but they are dumped right into the exit only lane for the US60 and have to cut across 3 lanes of traffic to go south. Close the ramp or extend it south of the interchange and your problem is solved. If you REALLY want to fix it, put in solid yellow lines dividing through traffic from US60 traffic 2 miles from the split with proper signage. Make people decide where they are going before the last minute.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by glynnjamin

First off - why do we have to look at the suicide lanes every 6 months? Just leave them alone. They are fine. People who can't navigate them deserve to get into wrecks.

I coudln't disagree more here. "They're fine"? For what exactly? Creating an auto centric nightmare of a Central City that can be navigated by anything smaller than an SUV? Fuck the stupid suicide lanes, the I-17, SR51 and LRT make them unnecessary. Get rid of them, widen the sidewalks and plant a nice shady median down the middle and add real bike lanes.

[dtnphx]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

I coudln't disagree more here. "They're fine"? For what exactly? Creating an auto centric nightmare of a Central City that can be navigated by anything smaller than an SUV? Fuck the stupid suicide lanes, the I-17, SR51 and LRT make them unnecessary. Get rid of them, widen the sidewalks and plant a nice shady median down the middle and add real bike lanes.

Well said, Hoover. Those lanes have done more to damage neighborhoods adjacent to them than most anything I can think of. On 7th Ave for instance, it contradicts what the neighborhood is trying to achieve by creating a vibrant, walkable neighborhood. People who live away from the downtown core should not be rewarded by street traffic mitigation. If this situation were reversed, they'd get their titties in bunch about it, too.

And by the way, it's been really hot lately...

[NIXPHX77]

i fully agree with dtnphx and Hoover, as someone who lives just east of 7th street. Why should the residents and businesses of these areas suffer so folks living farther away can have a slightly faster commute? It really is the antithesis of the urban, in-filling theories we should practice/implement.

To 7th st and ave, i say:
add landscaped medians (esp shady trees) with left turn bays where practical;
add bike lanes;
more sync'd traffic lights (and more, better marked [ladder style] crosswalks;
add metered parking where applicable on either or both sides of each street (rush hours unlawful tho);
add bus bays where practical, and better bus shelters;
add landscaping (esp shady trees) between gutter and sidewalk;
encourage some sidewalk useage by businesses;
add benches, trashbins, and other streetscape stuff.

[NIXPHX77]

ps - to add a twist to dtnphx's statement, if i may:
People who live in the downtown core should not be punished by street traffic mitigation.