Will Phoenix ever build a subway system? (houses, earthquake)

[Minntoaz]

About the same time basements are standard in Phoenix homes so no I doubt any subway will come about. There's already a light rail.

[goillini8]

No way. Increased light rail, maybe an elevated train, at most. There's know way they'd start tunneling under such a huge, established city to put in a subway. The costs wouldn't be worth it. As the poster upthread said, above-ground rail and a freeway system should serve PHX just fine.

[raindance maggie]

Originally Posted by Minntoaz

About the same time basements are standard in Phoenix homes so no I doubt any subway will come about. There's already a light rail.

Even light rail's costs are outrageous and it's not making any sort of profit, even when the trains are full.
Can you imagine the extra cost, construction, road closures, disruption of services, and people being forced out of their homes and businesses if Phoenix put subways in?

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Basements aren't really a thing here in Phoenix due to our ground/soil composition makes it rather costly to build underground. Not that it's not impossible, some of the older homes in Willo and Encanto have basements but it's just cheaper to build a second or third story at that point. We don't get tornadoes here so it's not like we need any disaster protection, either.

If it came to building mass transit we would have an easier time building above ground. I know in some places like Miami and Chicago they have like raised trains and subways, that is something we could do here. That would be a long time from now, though.

Basements are only common in areas where the ground freezes, they are meant to protect the integrity of the foundation from the freeze-thaw cycle. Hence places like here, where it never freezes are rarely frosts don't have basements, as like other posters have said, they are more expensive. So generally only built where needed

[man4857]

Another solution would be to zone higher density buildings and build UP instead of out. The more sprawlly Phoenix gets, the more it costs transportation networks to connect everything together.

Phoenix could zone areas to allow for high rise buildlings to house hundreds/thousands of families. The only question is, will the current owners of their land be willing to give it up for this purpose? Most I'm willing to bet are going to say no, that's what San Francisco consistently deals with and it's gotten pretty bad. We should be able to learn from it.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Basements are only common in areas where the ground freezes, they are meant to protect the integrity of the foundation from the freeze-thaw cycle. Hence places like here, where it never freezes are rarely frosts don't have basements, as like other posters have said, they are more expensive. So generally only built where needed

Basements are very common in the Pacific Northwest and the ground doesn't freeze.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

Basements are very common in the Pacific Northwest and the ground doesn't freeze.

Those areas do get a lot of rain though, which can water log the ground

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Those areas do get a lot of rain though, which can water log the ground

But we also live in a desert with hard, hard rock right under our dirt. In a lot of areas of this city especially. Not to mention building a subway will directly interfere with the aquifer needed so we can have water. We aren't in desperate need of land so it's not like we have to, by requirement, build up or build down like in Manhattan or D.C. (DC is landlocked in the sense that it has height ordinances on buildings and cannot widen roads or any such like we could)

We will never have a subway here. If we need a mass transit system like a subway, we would be better doing above-ground rail, like monorails in Disneyworld. They have these in some parts of Chicago as well.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Those areas do get a lot of rain though, which can water log the ground

Basements are also popular because it gives an area where the kids can play when they can't go outside.

[singlegirlinaz]

Not getting how the lack of basements has anything to do with subways. Many homes in the LA area don't have basements but LA has subways.