Phoenix's light-rail hope

I shed much blood professionally for the Valley Metro light-rail system, as the only columnist, or even journalist, to consistently stand up against the lies, myths and misconceptions that might well have killed this essential project if Phoenix is to have a future. This, as much as my outing of the Real Estate Industrial Complex and illuminating Arizona's looming water crisis, led to my demise at the Arizona Republic.

The opposition was powerful, ranging from suburban developers to right-wing thugs who didn't even live in the city. Some opponents were merely ignorant. Others were happy to see the central city die. They failed. So forgive me, as Metro prepares to open, for a moment of crowing.

We built it, you bastards.

Phoenix is largely populated by people from Midwestern suburbs and small towns, or long-time residents who have never even ridden a city bus. In other words, people who don't get out much in the world. So it wasn't surprising that, to them, light rail was an exotic, wild conception. They couldn't imagine anything other than Phoenix's 1965-era transportation system: endless single-occupancy driving. Others had a clear agenda. The local crackpot "think tank" carried out the odd "conservative" fetish against mass transit (an exception to this was the late Paul Weyrich). The Real Estate Industrial Complex was too locked in the suburban past to see profits from an urban renaissance. The anti-tax thugs saw the "trolley" as an effective rallying point.

Behind their rhetoric was a fundamental fear and hatred of the commons, of community, of civic hope. And they were the same ones who always accused me of being "negative."

In reality, of course, modern light rail have been very successful around the world, and even in the United States. Even in "road warrior" regions such as Dallas and Salt Lake City, light rail has proven highly popular. It is an essential part of a 21st century transportation system. In Phoenix it was admittedly flawed -- should have gone to Sky Harbor; should have run parallel to the Union Pacific tracks from downtown to Tempe, etc. But political compromise was essential to getting federal funding.

One of the canards against the Phoenix system was "no one will ride it." In fact, the red-line bus route it follows was way over capacity. When I took that bus to work, I always had to stand. So people will ride it. For Phoenix, the question is whether anyone other than poor people will ride it.

The answer is a qualified yes. The line will be an essential link between ASU campuses in Tempe and downtown Phoenix. It will be critical for the biomedical campus -- if Phoenix doesn't let that fail. It will help convention-goers, even if they have to take shuttles from the airport to the light-rail station.

But Metro is backfilling against decades of civic malpractice, from the virulent anti-transit stance of Phoenix leaders in the 1960s to the hollowing out of the central city as a result of sprawl. Better-off residents, retail and jobs fled to the suburbs. As other cities -- which have plenty of suburbs -- saw their central cores come back starting in the 1980s, Phoenix continued its downward spiral. Outside of the original historic districts, it failed to see the reinvestment that lifted those other cities.

At first, I was surprised to see how little real private investment resulted from the promise of light rail. This was directly the opposite of what I had seen in Denver and Charlotte. As time went by, I learned just how badly wounded Phoenix is. It lacks a real economy, of which real estate is a consequence. Instead, real estate is the economy. Indeed, the footprint of linear slums has actually increased during the building of light-rail, which is unprecedented in my experience. Chiefly to blame for this is the limited, low-wage economy, as well as what few economic assets Phoenix possesses being flung out to the farthest reaches of the region like the marbles of a tantrum child.

Together with bad city policies that allowed for land-banking and tear downs, this resulted in a bunch of speculative promises along Central that have now all turned to ashes. This means light-rail won't open in a live-work-shop-play city environment. (I also worry about the lack of shade at stations). So for now, anyway, Metro will succeed as a transportation system -- despite the usual SUV morons hitting trains -- but will have failed as a spur for real private investment or to attract more affluent, urban residents.

Still, light-rail offers a chance. The old suburban sprawl economy is not coming back. With a little luck and wise policy -- admittedly a big wish from this city government -- Phoenix can build a central city for the future. At the least, light rail is recompense for the parts of the city that were abandoned to rot as freeways were built out into the desert to make otherwise worthless land highly profitable for subdivisions. The freeway system represented vast private gains subsidized by the taxpayers, Their cost, in lost desert and farmland, in the frightening heat island, in deadly smog emissions, in water-sucking sprawl, in making the region more vulnerable to higher energy prices, in the global warming piper to be paid -- that tab is only beginning to come due. Light rail offers a way out.

But only one. Phoenix also needs commuter rail -- another a given for large cities. As with light rail, Phoenix is way behind on this one. A metro area of 4 million should have a much larger, multi-modal transportation system. What's depressing is that the Kookocracy will now stymie it, as well as carry out trench warfare to stop extensions of light rail -- and look for ways to defund the line opening tomorrow. Their nihilism is stunning. So, too, is their power -- not because it is so strong, for they are a minority, but that the majority of Arizonans lets them get away with it.

That didn't happen this time, for once, in the light-rail battle. We built it, you city-killing bastards. Now slide shut your gates in Gilbert and north Scottsdale while the rest of us celebrate.

Read Rogue's Phoenix archive here.

Comments

[Joanna]

What a happy day Jon! I'd like to see you crow a little more. I don't have to tell you about the huge potential of this project. This is just a beginning. Riders from all backgrounds will ride the train, especially if columns like yours get the word out Let's market this!

Light rail has been such a success in much of New Mexico. The just-opened line from Albuquerque to Santa Fe has business owners excited about the potential for attracting even out-of-state business:
http://www.nmshtd.state.nm.us/upload/images/Que_Pasa/businesses2.pdf

The ABQ to Santa Fe line has had overwhelming success in its first few days of official operation and more trains have already had to be added:
http://www.nmrailrunner.com/project_plans.asp

"Keeping up with the Joneses" of New Mexico could be a catalyst to adding lines to Phoenix's light rail service, but wouldn't attracting business to Arizona have to be an added incentive?

I'm sure there are many in the East and West Valleys that look forward to having train service, but how about a line from Phoenix to Flagstaff? That would have to be more than handy during ski season and for summer getaways.

[C]

Great post.

[Steve]

I'm going for a free ride in the morning. I'm excited about it... Live only a couple miles from the line in the East Valley and can go to more Dbacks games without having to pay so much for parking... not to mention that I frequently go to the Carl T Hayden VA Medical Center... which is only a couple block from the line.

[Petro]

It really is a great thing to see - now let's see what Phoenix does with it.

Being that I haven't driven for over 10 years, I look forward to "getting out" a bit more...

[eclecticdog]

I took a ride on Saturday. It was packed and we had to take the special buses to get back home, but it was fun. But as I drove to work (sorry, the line falls a couple of miles short of my work) I couldn't help but notice the trains were nearly empty at 8am.

Speaking of linear slums, Mesa is a worse pit than the last time I was there.

[Matt]

Jon,

Today I parked at my normal park-and-ride for a local, which I would normally take to the Red Line. The local was way behind. Entire families were loading up the bus beyond legal occupancy, so there were the buses were running fewer times than normal (and it's already a 30 minutes wait!).

I got to the Mesa depot an hour later than I anticipated only to find more and more families loading up for a free joy ride to Chris-Town Mall and back. I stood for 40 minutes as the car was elbow-to-elbow. I got to work 90 minutes late.

It was a great morning see so many people actually discover public transit. ;) Didn't mind being late, because I spoke to four people who had never taken public transportation in their life, and there they were with their kids.

My biggest disappointment is they're shutting down the lines at 11pm. This must be directly related to the Kookocracy, who view commuter trains as moving workers, and not a way to encourage people to spend their money at downtown restaurants and (perhaps) have an adult beverage or two. This must change even before they add more rail.

[Vince Dawson]

Jon:

To correct Joanna, The New Mexico RailRunner is not light rail, it's heavy commuter rail.

Stiil, the powers that be underestimated the ridership, and special weekend trains were overcrowded to the point of turning potential riders away. RailRunner refuses to run a weekend schedule because they don't have the balls to run it without government funding. Weekday service is fully funded.

Then, there's the Santa Fe issue.
The state govenment officials want the RailRunner -- and they use it! However, the elistist asshats that have moved in to the old railyard district (read: gentrification) are screaming bloody murder that this big, ugly, diesel fuel belching, thundering, horn blowing train dare upset their peaceful way of life along the (formerly unused) railroad tracks...

Boo hoo.

People in New Mexico have been witout rail transit for a long, long time. Adjusting will take time. New Mexicans need to understand that the train is more than just an ammusement ride -- it's the future.

Really wanted to take the press tour of the new line there. Valley Metro made it more difficult, and it just wasn't worth jumping through their hoops.

I hope the Valley Metro light-rail does well. I used to ride the Red Line as well, and no doubt the buses were overtaxed (ridership-wise).

[Derek Neighbors]

"For Phoenix, the question is whether anyone other than poor people will ride it."

The real question should be is it a good investment of tax dollars. The question is possibly. Light rail is extremely expensive per mile unless it has extreme capacity. By your own writing you say over and over again people here are stupid and would rather drive. So far, it's doing okay, but will take another 5 years or more to see if it made economical sense.

"At first, I was surprised to see how little real private investment resulted from the promise of light rail."

You admit that ASU and a Bio Med campus are the primary beneficiaries but then slam big business for not putting money on the table. The next viable economy for metro Phoenix is technology and it's in the South East Valley. Phoenix fucked around for two decades and lost its chance at the creative class.