April 1999
From ARPA's March 30 letter to Valley Connections:
The Arizona Rail Passenger Association supports your continuing efforts for a light rail system in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, as an important part of a comprehensive intermodal system for the entire Valley.
We heartily support the concept of a "starter" light rail system that can be expanded to serve places like South and North Phoenix, the State Capitol, Glendale, and Scottsdale.
We asked the following comments be included in the Scoping Summary Report:
- Initial light rail segment should be designed to include, or at least not preclude, immediate or eventual intermodal stations with a future commuter and regional rail system using existing rail lines.
- Intermodal stations connecting light rail with commuter / regional rail should be located in downtown Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix, and potentially at Sky Harbor Airport. These stations may not be part of the initial segment, but first phase plans should make provisions for them in later phases. Consideration should be given to reuse of existing rail stations (e.g., Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale) and station sites (e.g., Mesa).
- Light rail should be a visible participant in our cities' social and economic structure. We generally prefer routing of light rail alongside streets, not along existing rail lines.
The Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail lines are indeed suitable for use as commuter and regional rail. The Arizona Rail Passenger Association has advocated precisely this for at least twenty years.
Why, then, ARPA has endorsed the current Light Rail project? Light rail is not a substitute for, but a complement to, a regional rail system and a greatly improved network of local and express buses. Light rail serves an entirely different purpose and clientele than regional rail.
- Local buses operating on a frequent all-day schedule carry some commuters but primarily students, shoppers, and people on their daily activities.
- Express buses, operating several trips per peak period, cater primarily to commuters. Express bus riders are more likely to be office workers and college students.
- Light rail, operating frequently during peak periods and every twenty to thirty minutes during the day and evening, stops every half-mile or mile, and maintains a higher speed than local buses, but stops more often than express buses. Light rail attracts a wide variety of passengers for whom local buses are too slow, but whose destinations and trip times do not mesh with express bus schedules.
- Regional rail, with stations every few miles and high intermediate speeds, caters to the longer-distance commuters and students, and to suburban residents who are traveling from suburb to suburb or across the metro region.
All of these are important to our mobility, and they all need to be connected together. Without good local transit, regional rail would surely fail. That is why ARPA endorses Light Rail as a precursor to an integrated system which includes regional rail.
San Diego very successfully implemented light rail first, then added Amtrak regional trains and Coaster commuter service. Phoenix would do well to emulate this path.