What do all of you locals think of the rail system in Phoenix? (Tucson: leasing, insurance)

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

Phoenix needs to look at Denver light rail system if it wants to be successful about it. It puts the valley to shame.

The Denver metroplex "lucked out" in that they used a lot of old railroad ROW (saved money and allowed their trains to go a lot quicker as compared to surface street lines with lights, i.e. Valley Metro) and/or built their lines along (or in the center of) their interstates when the road was being reconstructed/widened.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by observer53

Light rail is too slow to be practical going out too far. Not to mention the expense of construction.

Well, I didn't mean we needed light rail everywhere. We need to design a network capable of moving people around efficiently. It should include a combination of light rail and heavy rail.

The problem is, heavy rail investment is way more expensive than light rail. Given the way the Valley is laid out, it'll be very difficult to make a financial case for heavy rail except for heavily dense areas, or where a network comes together where loads of people use it to switch lines.

Another way to make light rail efficient is to allow it right of way over vehicle traffic.

A theoretical picture of how a rail system would be here in the Valley is there would be multiple light rail networks in the various suburbs centered around Phoenix/Tempe. Heavy rail would link multiple transfer stations between the suburbs, Phoenix, Tempe, and the airport so people can switch trains quicker to the correct light rail network they need in their destination by using the heavy rail lines.

[Prickly Pear]

It needs to be expanded so that it's not necessarily a commuting light rail but used for closer in areas to create urban neighborhoods. Right now there are ideas going around about expanding the light rail to Westgate and I disagree with that entirely. It's costly and won't do much benefit.

Phoenix doesn't have "urban neighborhoods" like some other cities in the US do. They are the ones who use public transit most efficiently. But if we do it'll take a load off commuting (people have more options to move in closer) while using the least amount of rail to do the same job.

Others are mentioning heavy rail and I don't think it is as costly or as expensive as people are making it. If New Mexico can get heavy rail, so can we. And we can expand it down to Tucson by sharing ROW with the rail along the I-10 and Grand Avenue.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Others are mentioning heavy rail and I don't think it is as costly or as expensive as people are making it. If New Mexico can get heavy rail, so can we. And we can expand it down to Tucson by sharing ROW with the rail along the I-10 and Grand Avenue.

That's the key and tricky part. Railroads hate either sharing their lines or even allowing cities/states to build new rail lines next to their lines, it's like pulling teeth.

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

That's the key and tricky part. Railroads hate either sharing their lines or even allowing cities/states to build new rail lines next to their lines, it's like pulling teeth.

Yeah but we would have a harder time building all new heavy rail lines in entirely new areas with residents b*tch about the noise and stuff.

[Stjoan]

Thanks for all the information. I am learning a lot about the area this way. As an outsider, I can't say enough how crowded and congested all the streets and areas were when I visited the area a year or two ago. And it also sounds like the area is expanding and growing. Sooner or later someone has to figure out how to move people from place to place in a functional way I guess. If I spent more time there, I would use the public transport as driving seems like a nightmare lol.

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by Stjoan

Thanks for all the information. I am learning a lot about the area this way. As an outsider, I can't say enough how crowded and congested all the streets and areas were when I visited the area a year or two ago. And it also sounds like the area is expanding and growing. Sooner or later someone has to figure out how to move people from place to place in a functional way I guess. If I spent more time there, I would use the public transport as driving seems like a nightmare lol.

To the emboldened part, you would think so. In truth, no. As I understand it, municipalities in Maricopa County have been in talks of commuter rail for well over a decade, and there's absolutely no sign of that becoming a reality, even though it would vastly expand capacity at less cost than building a new light rail line. Light rail in Phoenix surpassed expectations, yes, but fast-tracking expansions has been anything but fast, and there will be only one line for the next several years at least. Phoenix also has a perfectly usable central hub at 4th Avenue/a block south of Jackson that could easily link bus lines, light rail, commuter rail and long-distance service to neighboring states and other cities in Arizona, but that would cost tax money, so don't bet on that happening despite any benefits it would create. People here are very "frugal" to put it nicely, thus funding is harder to get. Things like this tend to run a bit slower here.

I think you could use public transit in a select few areas, but relying on it is harder because buses (and light rail) have differing schedules. Though I live on a heavily-trafficked street in Central Phoenix, buses run only every 30 minutes. That's not the standard though, and some areas have more (or less) frequent service.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by dvxhd

Light rail in Phoenix surpassed expectations, yes, but fast-tracking expansions has been anything but fast, and there will be only one line for the next several years at least.

Maybe not as fast as everyone would like but there is a fair amount of expansion in the works.

[Stjoan]

Originally Posted by locolife

Maybe not as fast as everyone would like but there is a fair amount of expansion in the works.

Wow. Thanks for the map. That is really helpful to see where everyone is talking about.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Stjoan

Hello. I was wondering what all the locals on this site think of the rail system in Phoenix. The last time I was visiting, I saw it at the airport and it looked fun and interesting. We don't have anything like that where I live (not even a bus system) and was wondering if the rail has worked out well for your city.


I am from a really small town in the north/Midwest and am curious about this area for a possible relocate/retire city.


Thanks for the info.

I use it all the time. A lot of people use it a lot.

Obviously it limits your range if you depend on it as a primary mode of transportation, but you could definitely live using only public transportation if it was within your range (plus buses). It just wouldn't be that convenient.