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Old 11-10-2017, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
5,649 posts, read 5,963,335 times
Reputation: 8317

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Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220 View Post
Even if my fiance didn't have her car, I could still do it. My work and apartment are both on the rail, hence why I use it. And living downtown, there are enough things on the light rail as well as within walking distance that I can get by. Even the bus fills in holes.

But if you live in the burbs, I'd agree with you
How do you grocery shop if you were to have no car and only light rail access? What about going to the movies? Or a Cards game? Or the lakes? Or a friend's house out in the burbs?
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Old 11-10-2017, 01:14 PM
 
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,596,838 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG CATS View Post
How do you grocery shop if you were to have no car and only light rail access? What about going to the movies? Or a Cards game? Or the lakes? Or a friend's house out in the burbs?
I'll do one at a time

Groceries? Until the new Fry's opens downtown, I can either take the 7 bus to the Safeway at 3rd St&McDowell; do the 16 bus to the Target at 16th St& Camelback or take the light rail to the Fry's at 7th Ave&Camelback

Movie? AMC Arizona Center 24 is within walking distance of my apartment

Cards game, would take light rail to Glendale Ave, then the 70 bus the rest of the way

Lakes? Not interested, not an outdoorsy type.

Friends house in burbs? Not an issue for me, but could do an occasional Uber. Would only apply to weekends, all I do M-F is work and sleep
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Old 11-10-2017, 01:48 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
5,649 posts, read 5,963,335 times
Reputation: 8317
Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220 View Post
I'll do one at a time

Groceries? Until the new Fry's opens downtown, I can either take the 7 bus to the Safeway at 3rd St&McDowell; do the 16 bus to the Target at 16th St& Camelback or take the light rail to the Fry's at 7th Ave&Camelback

Movie? AMC Arizona Center 24 is within walking distance of my apartment

Cards game, would take light rail to Glendale Ave, then the 70 bus the rest of the way

Lakes? Not interested, not an outdoorsy type.

Friends house in burbs? Not an issue for me, but could do an occasional Uber. Would only apply to weekends, all I do M-F is work and sleep
You just illustrated my point. You have to wait and then pay for a ride if you ever need to go anywhere that isn't close to the light rail.


Those were just a few examples. I don't see how one could ever live in PHX without a car, especially those who enjoy outdoor activities like me.
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Old 11-10-2017, 02:04 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
6,311 posts, read 6,811,816 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220 View Post
I'll do one at a time

Groceries? Until the new Fry's opens downtown, I can either take the 7 bus to the Safeway at 3rd St&McDowell; do the 16 bus to the Target at 16th St& Camelback or take the light rail to the Fry's at 7th Ave&Camelback

Movie? AMC Arizona Center 24 is within walking distance of my apartment

Cards game, would take light rail to Glendale Ave, then the 70 bus the rest of the way

Lakes? Not interested, not an outdoorsy type.

Friends house in burbs? Not an issue for me, but could do an occasional Uber. Would only apply to weekends, all I do M-F is work and sleep
Safeway I know if you spend at least $150 you get free delivery. But I think you have to be in a certain radius from Safeway, that I can't remember.

Uber is significantly cheaper than owning a car if you are only going to use it occasionally, I know in some other cities people use Uber to commute and that is more expensive than owning a car, but in most cases an occasional Uber is still going to be cheaper.
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Old 11-10-2017, 02:06 PM
 
Location: Inside the 101
2,788 posts, read 7,448,732 times
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My family consolidated from two cars to one several years ago. Light rail was a big part of why we were able to do that. I enjoy regular outdoor activities and therefore would not want to go without a car at all. Nevertheless, for the person who does those things only a few times a year, occasional taxi rides or rental cars would be cheaper than owning a car.

Back to the OP's original inquiry, I just noticed this ranking of metro areas by jobs accessible via public transit. Phoenix is not among the top 10 cities by that metric, but it is among the 10 most-improved cities. In other words, things are moving in the direction of less car dependence even as the metro area continues to grow.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/11/...ransit-riders/
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Old 11-10-2017, 03:33 PM
 
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,596,838 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG CATS View Post
You just illustrated my point. You have to wait and then pay for a ride if you ever need to go anywhere that isn't close to the light rail.


Those were just a few examples. I don't see how one could ever live in PHX without a car, especially those who enjoy outdoor activities like me.
How did I illustrate your point? It's only a problem if you need instant gratification, I don't need to be somewhere in 5 mins
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Old 11-10-2017, 11:31 PM
 
Location: Avondale and Tempe, Arizona
2,852 posts, read 4,501,755 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220 View Post
How did I illustrate your point? It's only a problem if you need instant gratification, I don't need to be somewhere in 5 mins
During heavy traffic it can be faster to use the transit system especially light rail.

Having a car is convenient but it can be expensive to maintain and it's not always faster travel.
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Old 11-11-2017, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,596,838 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by Java Jolt View Post
During heavy traffic it can be faster to use the transit system especially light rail.

Having a car is convenient but it can be expensive to maintain and it's not always faster travel.
I'm in the process of selling my car to a co-worker without replacing it, that will save me $550/month (car payment plus insurance), not counting all the other expenses
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Old 11-11-2017, 08:11 AM
 
4,222 posts, read 3,733,572 times
Reputation: 4588
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG CATS View Post
You just illustrated my point. You have to wait and then pay for a ride if you ever need to go anywhere that isn't close to the light rail.


Those were just a few examples. I don't see how one could ever live in PHX without a car, especially those who enjoy outdoor activities like me.
Easy actually, south Mountain is literally within pedal distance of downtown Tempe and Phoenix, I’ve done it more than a few times. Firebird doesn’t sound like much of a cyclist but it’s fairly easy for me to beat my drive time on the bike and let’s be real commuting is the biggest daily event most of us deal with daily. The Cards game? I went on Thur via Uber along with 100’s of others, we were dropped off closer to the stadium than most who drove and parked as far as American Furniture Warehouse on the other side of the 101. Getting out was much faster too with cars drivers waiting for me in the pickup area.

Not owning a car doesn’t mean you can’t easily access one, zip car is pretty easy to snag for a weekend trip or a day trip. Even in the most urban cities people grab cars to get away, I used an hourly car service when in SF and took a day trip along the coast so many people do it there’s an amazing selection of cars to drive, I took a brand new Cadillac.

Grocery shopping is also really easy on a bike, it’s perfect for hitting the farmers markets on weekends too. The expanding bike path network is also a huge benefit, looking forward to Phoenix developing the grand canal path next from Tempe to the West Side. Tempe is setup better for cyclists but Phoenix is improving rapidly.

What is it you NEED your own car for every day if you have an alternative commute figured out? I understand people with young kids needing a car but we aren’t all in that category. If not driving is a goal it’s only getting easier to do here. Downtown Tempe is adding a grocery store too.
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Old 11-11-2017, 09:27 AM
 
383 posts, read 634,253 times
Reputation: 427
Quote:
Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220 View Post
I'm in the process of selling my car to a co-worker without replacing it, that will save me $550/month (car payment plus insurance), not counting all the other expenses
All my live I've been a commuter on subways and trains. Here in Fl a car is a must. When I live in Phoenix, I hope I can ditch one of the cars. I saw that midtown Phoenix has a walk score of 94%. That is pretty good to me.
My only thing is to be able to get a job close to the light rail. If I do that, then one car in the family is sufficient. I am crossing my fingers.
Congrats on getting rid of your vehicle! See you on the rail!
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