Figure 7. Metropolitan Phoenix Light Rail and Extensions
The successful transit sales tax referenda in Tempe in 1996 and Phoenix in March 2000 set the stage for the first new rail lines in the Phoenix area since 1926. ARPA supported these efforts and encourages other metropolitan area cities to acquire the authority and funds to extend the initial light rail line now planned for Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa into their jurisdictions. Already, Scottsdale, Chandler and Glendale are studying light rail. The initial segment in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa will achieve its maximum potential only by extension throughout the metro area.
The urban light rail transit network should directly interface wherever possible with the proposed Phoenix/Tucson high speed rail link and with the proposed commuter rail lines. The transportation center at Sky Harbor International Airport proposed by ARPA, above, would be one of those connections. Another could be Phoenix Union Station, near potential future light rail lines headed west and south. Another light rail interface could be made with proposed commuter rail and Northern Arizona passenger lines at the Glendale station on the BNSF rail line.
While not as far advanced as the project in Phoenix and Tempe, Tucson has been considering light rail transit as well. ARPA supports that effort as a complementary alternative to the current high degree of reliance on street and highway traffic. Once again, interface at Tucson's railroad station is critical to the success of the passenger service proposed by ARPA on the Union Pacific tracks. The Old Pueblo Trolley is already proposed to reach the station, and light rail lines would greatly assist buses and taxicabs/shuttles to make it possible for intercity rail passengers to reach their ultimate destinations without renting cars.
See also: Tucsonans for Sensible Transportation
Figure 8. Light Rail and the Grand Canyon Railway at the South Rim
While the Grand Canyon hardly qualifies as an urban environment, it is one of the most-visited places in all of Arizona. The Grand Canyon National Park is planning to build a light rail system to carry visitors there, complementing the Grand Canyon Railway. Visitors to the Park will benefit not only from a reduction, indeed near-elimination, of vehicular traffic there, but also a more tranquil and less polluted environment. ARPA wholeheartedly supports this project.