Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-22-2016, 02:00 AM
 
784 posts, read 918,677 times
Reputation: 1326

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Valley Native View Post
HA HA! You took the words right out my mouth. By the time light rail catches up to the Westgate area, the Coyotes will be moved to another location, if not entirely out of the Phoenix area (which I hope doesn't happen, but Glendale's financial mess regarding the team is a huge cause for concern). Also, I think the Cards are pretty firmly set at UOP Stadium, but if Westgate starts to crumble (which is already showing signs of happening), don't be surprised if even the Cards will want to move somewhere more centrally located ... not to tribal land I hope!

Not sure where you come up with your "westgate crumble"....if what I saw last week is a crumble then westgate should welcome more of it......it was the busiest I've ever seen it....outside the week of the superbowl that is.........they are crumbling big time...lol
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-22-2016, 07:58 AM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,246,310 times
Reputation: 13996
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valley Native View Post
This is actually the long term plan from the Capitol to the west Valley: light rail in the I10 median, and the stations would be sporadically placed at certain major exits/overpasses. I know something similar was done in the L.A. area on one of the freeways, but I can't recall which one (seems to me it was in the Pasadena area).

I don't especially see this as being cheaper because in addition to laying the tracks & building the stations, there would be have to be elevators & escalators installed at the overpass level ... similar to the SkyTrain connection at 44th Street & Washington. You would probably be correct about the absence of utilities in the medians, however. All I know is something needs to be done with that I10 median. It's an eyesore!
I know about the west valley light rail expansion in the I-10 median. That's the only future expansion planned along a freeway. It might be wash when comparing price of that section vs. a regular section that goes down the middle of a street. I guess depending on the section if utility relocation is very expensive and there's a plethora to do, it might be cheaper to do the I-10 median section, even with the addition of elevators/escalators and bridges over I-10. I just don't have the numbers to crunch.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2016, 08:54 AM
 
8,081 posts, read 6,900,341 times
Reputation: 7977
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
I know about the west valley light rail expansion in the I-10 median. That's the only future expansion planned along a freeway. It might be wash when comparing price of that section vs. a regular section that goes down the middle of a street. I guess depending on the section if utility relocation is very expensive and there's a plethora to do, it might be cheaper to do the I-10 median section, even with the addition of elevators/escalators and bridges over I-10. I just don't have the numbers to crunch.
You also have to figure the transaction costs and all of the agencies that come out of putting the light rail on an Interstate. Now you have to deal with the Federal Government, State Government, City Contractors etc.

I would presume such transactions would be easier if they ran it along SRs instead of Interstates. That is, unless the Federal government is awarding grants, which under the current administration I could imagine to be true if they sold it as a way to combat air pollution.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2016, 01:38 PM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,246,310 times
Reputation: 13996
Quote:
Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64 View Post
You also have to figure the transaction costs and all of the agencies that come out of putting the light rail on an Interstate. Now you have to deal with the Federal Government, State Government, City Contractors etc.

I would presume such transactions would be easier if they ran it along SRs instead of Interstates. That is, unless the Federal government is awarding grants, which under the current administration I could imagine to be true if they sold it as a way to combat air pollution.
I mean, the feds usually pay for 50% of light rail construction anyways, all over the country, so I wouldn't see too much of a problem transferring the median over to Valley Metro. I think it would just be to sign a few papers and they don't even need to transfer money. The median ROW cost would just come out of the feds 50%.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2016, 11:14 PM
 
Location: Avondale and Tempe, Arizona
2,852 posts, read 4,480,471 times
Reputation: 2561
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valley Native View Post
This is actually the long term plan from the Capitol to the west Valley: light rail in the I10 median, and the stations would be sporadically placed at certain major exits/overpasses. I know something similar was done in the L.A. area on one of the freeways, but I can't recall which one (seems to me it was in the Pasadena area).

I don't especially see this as being cheaper because in addition to laying the tracks & building the stations, there would be have to be elevators & escalators installed at the overpass level ... similar to the SkyTrain connection at 44th Street & Washington. You would probably be correct about the absence of utilities in the medians, however. All I know is something needs to be done with that I10 median. It's an eyesore!
I would be fine with light rail in the I-10 center strip eyesore but I think it would get more ridership if it ran along regular streets.

Commuter trains might be the better alternative on I-10.

If the RPTA can't do either of these then I hope ADOT adds additional non-toll lanes and moves ahead with building the reliever freeways.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2016, 01:49 PM
 
Location: East Central Phoenix
8,026 posts, read 12,179,869 times
Reputation: 9798
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdahunt View Post
Not sure where you come up with your "westgate crumble"....if what I saw last week is a crumble then westgate should welcome more of it......it was the busiest I've ever seen it....outside the week of the superbowl that is.........they are crumbling big time...lol
Sure it's busy now because we're in a heavy tourism season. You can find crowds just about anywhere in the metro area where there are popular eateries, bars, nightlife, and sports venues. Since the Coyotes are still in their regular season, that will draw some crowds to Westgate as well. Have you considered also that Westgate is being kept alive largely by taxpayer money? Have you considered that last year's Super Bowl was a cash cow for the city of Phoenix, but a losing deal for Glendale?

If and when the Coyotes move out of Glendale, the city will still be in the red and Westgate will fail even further. If Westgate was a success, all the vacant land surrounding it would have been fully developed by now (as was promised a decade ago). If Westgate and the Coyotes were benefitting Glendale, the city wouldn't be on the hook for $15 million per year and have a $12 million annual debt payment for the arena. The fact is: the Coyotes have one of the worst attendance records in the NHL, and the primary reason is the location of the venue. Sports and entertainment complexes like this belong in a more centralized location ... or least in closer proximity to where a majority of the fans are.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2016, 09:39 PM
 
Location: Arcadia area of Phoenix
249 posts, read 187,540 times
Reputation: 356
Every city that has light rail is losing-not making-money. I've seen trains rolling around empty or half empty much of the time here and in Sacramento where I used to live.
What's the point of all the cost, construction, traffic delays, and the headaches to build a light rail system in a car-oriented city where less than 5% of the population uses it?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-28-2016, 06:13 PM
 
Location: East Central Phoenix
8,026 posts, read 12,179,869 times
Reputation: 9798
Quote:
Originally Posted by raindance maggie View Post
Every city that has light rail is losing-not making-money. I've seen trains rolling around empty or half empty much of the time here and in Sacramento where I used to live.
What's the point of all the cost, construction, traffic delays, and the headaches to build a light rail system in a car-oriented city where less than 5% of the population uses it?
I'm in favor of the concept of light rail ... and apparently most other people are as well based on how three ballot propositions to fund light rail & increased mass transit since the year 2000 were approved by the majority of the voters. Personally, I would much rather have monorail, and have it privatized instead of more tax money being used to pay for something that a small percentage of the population uses ... so in that respect, I agree with you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-28-2016, 06:20 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
6,311 posts, read 6,736,665 times
Reputation: 7167
I don't think Glendale will benefit from the Light Rail, coming from a Glendale resident. The route it will run through is not necessarily traffic-heavy and it's low density suburbia. I really wanted the Light Rail to expand onto Scottsdale Road... I thought that was one of the best places for the Light Rail but it was shot down, naturally.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-01-2016, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Avondale and Tempe, Arizona
2,852 posts, read 4,480,471 times
Reputation: 2561
Quote:
Originally Posted by :-D View Post
I don't think Glendale will benefit from the Light Rail, coming from a Glendale resident. The route it will run through is not necessarily traffic-heavy and it's low density suburbia. I really wanted the Light Rail to expand onto Scottsdale Road... I thought that was one of the best places for the Light Rail but it was shot down, naturally.
Well-written about the Glendale route.

A better alternative is putting light rail on Thomas, McDowell, or Indian School, it would finally serve the west valley and I think it would have more ridership along one of those streets.

Forget about light rail in Scottsdale, it would work well there but the plastic population seems to think it's beneath them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top