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This was quite informative. Thank you. Hopefully the country comes to terms with late capitalism and the figures that manipulate our political landscape in the near future.
Arlington TX or Tampa. Nashville is pretty bad and recently missed out on it. I think they will get it eventually though. At least Phoenix has a good freeway system.
I would say Houston is worse in the light rail department, especially given its size.
Phoenix is a different kind of city and one that I think has its own charm. A legacy city should not be expected there because it just isn't that kind of place. It's a city that pretty much couldn't even exist, at least being the size that it is, without modern technology.
Atlanta is terrible with public support for subway/rail, considering its size, economy and influence.
The voters consistently vote against expansion, and the MARTA light rail is essentially the same as it was in the early 80s, with the exception of several stations built north of the Perimeter in the late 1990s or so.
The freeways expand, but the rail stalls. Terrible planning. Ugh--hoping it improves in the future.
No it's not. San Jose is significantly denser than Phoenix and has a more pedestrian oriented (but smaller) downtown than Phoenix.
Actually, Downtown San Jose is way more dense with buildings than Downtown Phoenix. It's also a larger downtown than Phoenix since Central Ave in Phoenix north of downtown is not part of downtown.
Just noted this thread from Arizona group that powerful group of NIMBY locals have a Prop 105 on the (August?) ballot forbidding any further spending toward LRT extension because rail transit ... attracts homeless (aka "bums" also see, racial 'others' ... etc.), and that C-D posters re Phoenix actually cosign this crazy idea, to wit:
Apparently Prop 105 will reverse a popular vote referendum to extend Phoenix's LRT. Look, I know this is weak transit/anti HSR America and that this general area is the right-wing wacko Land of Joe Arpaio, but I figured Phoenix, which had the good sense to actually build a decent LRT to begin with, wouldn't sink this low. Just wondering are there ANY other American big cities that have sunk this low regarding transit? (note: I can't even see Detroit doing this)...
So first of all, this is a vote, nothing has changed, so lets get the facts straight.
1. The valley metro light rail system serves more riders per mile of track than DART in Dallas, SEPTA LRT in Philly, Denver RTD, Seattle Streetcar, DC Streetcar and ranks nearly the same as Portland, OR.
2. With 15million riders in 2018 it ranks as the 14th busiest LRT system in the country, Phoenix is the 13th largest metro area, this makes sense...
3. In 11 years Phoenix has gone from 0 miles of track to 35 around the valley:
- 26 miles of LRT, the original line was 20 and 6 miles have been added.
- 3 mile streetcar system is under construction in downtown Tempe now.
- 5 mile PHX skytrain connecting the LRT to Sky Harbor and the rental car facility.
4. In 2000, 2004, and 2015 Phoenix voted to fund and expand light rail and public transportation expansion.
5. Phoenix is not a right wing city, it's very much purple and has had democratic mayors for years.
6. Sheriff Joe is gone, he's been gone for 2 years now.
7. Light Rail Transit costs are being challenged in many cities across the country, the fact is it does cost a lot and technology is on pace to change how we move around cities in the future.
Here's what this really is, a group of people gathered enough signatures to force a vote on rail transit expansion in a city that has supported it for two decades long. This city has created a very successful initial system that has exceeded most expectations for ridership. Why don't we just see how the vote goes, since that's all this really is...
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