Does The Phoenix area Infrastructure keep up with expansion? (Mesa: 2013, calculated)

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

You forgot the 156 and 184, both of which run on Sundays. The 108 runs on Sundays as well, and Gilbert has one express route, the 531. The new 140 also serves a small section of Gilbert, and the 112 actually touches the Gilbert border.

Those all don't really count as they border other cities, and don't go into the town.

108 has Sundays now? When I lived in Gilbert, it stopped at Price on weekends, and only ran in Chandler and Gilbert from 6-6 M-F

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Those all don't really count as they border other cities, and don't go into the town.

108 has Sundays now? When I lived in Gilbert, it stopped at Price on weekends, and only ran in Chandler and Gilbert from 6-6 M-F

The 156 (Chandler/Williams Field) does in fact go into the town, serving SanTan Village and ending at ASU Poly.

And yes, according to Valley Metro I can confirm the 108 now runs all the way to Superstition Springs on Sundays.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Looks like Valley Metro should shift their focus to Chandler, and potentially Gilbert. I know there is the proposed line on Arizona Avenue, but I would also like to see lines on Rural Road and Chandler Boulevard/Williams Field Road. All three of these corridors have been identified in the past as potential high capacity transit corridors.

With Glendale's decision, Chandler is now the only Phoenix suburb with any realistic potential to add light rail. Even then, I'd rate the odds of Chandler going ahead with rail at only 50/50. Discussion of the prospect has already drawn significant opposition:

Critics slam Chandler light rail talk

In Gilbert, the local political climate would not accommodate light rail, and Congressman Andy Biggs, who represents the town in Washington, would never advocate for federal funding. In fact, he'd probably advocate against it.

Even if Chandler doesn't come on board, there's still plenty of room for expansion of light rail within the three currently participating cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Together, they have a population of over two million and plenty of room for additional lines.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

With Glendale's decision, Chandler is now the only Phoenix suburb with any realistic potential to add light rail. Even then, I'd rate the odds of Chandler going ahead with rail at only 50/50. Discussion of the prospect has already drawn significant opposition:

Critics slam Chandler light rail talk

In Gilbert, the local political climate would not accommodate light rail, and Congressman Andy Biggs, who represents the town in Washington, would never advocate for federal funding. In fact, he'd probably advocate against it.

Even if Chandler doesn't come on board, there's still plenty of room for expansion of light rail within the three currently participating cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Together, they have a population of over two million and plenty of room for additional lines.

There are no immediate plans for light rail expansion in Chandler but there might be a glimmer of hope for the southwest valley in the distant future.

The Capitol I-10 west expansion is proposed to open to 79th Avenue in 2030 which is nearly on the border of Tolleson.

Based on the exploding growth in the southwest valley, there will likely be more demand for it to expand westward into Tolleson, Avondale, and Goodyear by 2030.

Along with additional bus and light rail service, if the reliever freeways could be finished by then it would put the southwest valley on par with the east valley regarding mass transit improvements.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Java Jolt

There are no immediate plans for light rail expansion in Chandler but there might be a glimmer of hope for the southwest valley in the distant future.

The Capitol I-10 west expansion is proposed to open to 79th Avenue in 2030 which is nearly on the border of Tolleson.

Based on the exploding growth in the southwest valley, there will likely be more demand for it to expand westward into Tolleson, Avondale, and Goodyear by 2030.

Along with additional bus and light rail service, if the reliever freeways could be finished by then it would put the southwest valley on par with the east valley regarding mass transit improvements.

I haven't heard of any plans to extend the Capitol / I-10 west line beyond the currently planned terminus at 79th Avenue. Going farther west would be an interesting idea, though. One of my main concerns with the current plan is that Phoenix is going to pay most of the bill for building and operating a line along I-10 that won't effectively serve the Maryvale neighborhood. The stations will be spaced every two miles and located along the freeway rather than on an arterial street, leaving few residential areas within walking distance of the train. As a result, I suspect most of the passengers will come from the suburbs you mention and drive to the 79th Avenue park-and-ride. If the line were to continue outside Phoenix city limits into Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear, and maybe even Buckeye, at least those suburbs would being doing more to help pay for a line that will benefit their residents. The biggest question would be if those suburbs would be we filling to fund rail within their borders. They might not have a reason to do so if their residents could already drive into Phoenix and board the train at 79th Avenue. I guess a lot will depend on how congested I-10 is a decade from now.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I haven't heard of any plans to extend the Capitol / I-10 west line beyond the currently planned terminus at 79th Avenue. Going farther west would be an interesting idea, though. One of my main concerns with the current plan is that Phoenix is going to pay most of the bill for building and operating a line along I-10 that won't effectively serve the Maryvale neighborhood. The stations will be spaced every two miles and located along the freeway rather than on an arterial street, leaving few residential areas within walking distance of the train. As a result, I suspect most of the passengers will come from the suburbs you mention and drive to the 79th Avenue park-and-ride. If the line were to continue outside Phoenix city limits into Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear, and maybe even Buckeye, at least those suburbs would being doing more to help pay for a line that will benefit their residents. The biggest question would be if those suburbs would be we filling to fund rail within their borders. They might not have a reason to do so if their residents could already drive into Phoenix and board the train at 79th Avenue. I guess a lot will depend on how congested I-10 is a decade from now.

I think that within 10-15 years that the Route 29 bus (Thomas Rd) should be replaced by a light rail line in its entirety; it is the most heavily traveled bus line in the whole valley

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

I think that within 10-15 years that the Route 29 bus (Thomas Rd) should be replaced by a light rail line in its entirety; it is the most heavily traveled bus line in the whole valley

Completely agree. Unfortunately, the current plan is to put Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Thomas and light rail on I-10. The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro have identified the right corridors in need of high-capacity transit, but they've matched them with the wrong modes. Thomas would benefit more from light rail, and I-10 could be outfitted with dedicated lanes for express buses. For some reason, though, planners at both the city and Valley Metro seem hell-bent on building light rail along I-10.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Completely agree. Unfortunately, the current plan is to put Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Thomas and light rail on I-10. The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro have identified the right corridors in need of high-capacity transit, but they've matched them with the wrong modes. Thomas would benefit more from light rail, and I-10 could be outfitted with dedicated lanes for express buses. For some reason, though, planners at both the city and Valley Metro seem hell-bent on building light rail along I-10.

They're probably taking cues from Los Angeles and Chicago, who have rail going down the median of I-105&I-210 (Los Angeles) and I-290 (Chicago) respectively

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

They're probably taking cues from Los Angeles and Chicago, who have rail going down the median of I-105&I-210 (Los Angeles) and I-290 (Chicago) respectively

The light rail segment in the median of I-10, will only be for like a 3-mile section from I-17 to around 47th Avenue, then they plan to place the line north of the west bound lanes of I-10, due to the new 202/I-10 interchange at 59th Avenue.

Denver also has a small segment of their light rail in the median of I-225 and a good chunk on the west side of the southbound lanes of I-25. Doing it this way, does make the the trains move a lot faster, but sometimes it tends to move the lines away from densely populated areas.

[wase4711]

and, at least in chicago, most of the rail lines that are in the highway median, go through crime ridden, run down areas, and, especially at night and on the weekends, the ridership is very low..