() PHOENIX RISING Rail transit was a linchpin in the city’s revitalization plans

by Malcolm Kenton BUILDING A LIGHT RAIL LINE WAS a hallmark in the city of Phoenix’s efforts to revitalize its downtown, making it into a walkable center. Phoenix’s first growth spurt was built around rail- roads, with the Southern Pacific arriving in 1887 and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe in 1901. Aided by the automobile and air- conditioning, the city and its suburbs grew ever outward in the latter half of the 20th century, until downtown was no longer the city’s focal point. Now, however, the number of downtown units planned or under con- struction is equal to all the activity between 1996 and 2008, thanks largely to city tax breaks and other incentives, according to a June 2016 New York Times report. The city’s boosters are working to shake Phoe- nix’s image as a sun-baked retirement com- munity. They’ve made pitches to young en- trepreneurs frustrated by the high cost of doing business in Silicon Valley, and they’ve succeeded in wooing tech companies to open secondary offices. One major piece of this is the shared downtown satellite campuses of three state universities: State University, the University of Arizona, and Northern Arizo-

www.TrainsMag.com 39 © 2017 Trains magazine. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. www.TrainsMag.com © 2017 Trains magazine. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. www.TrainsMag.com local funding in one of the nation’s most po- litically conservative major metropolitan ar- eas, Rail has built and main- tained a line that served 15.6 million in fiscal year 2016, with an average of 49,614 weekday riders. That makes it the country’s 12th-best-patronized light rail system and its 18th-most-used rail transit system. The line can accommodate up to 12,000 passen- gers per hour — the same capacity as a six- lane highway, assuming an occupancy rate of 1.4 passengers per vehicle on the road. December 2018 will be the 10th anni- versary of ’s debut. Rider- ship exceeds original projections, and the system achieved a 44.6-percent farebox re- covery rate as early as 2014. It is also begin- ning to transform greater Phoenix’s urban geography, reinvigorating the downtown core and spurring high-density develop- ments around outlying stops. Extensions of the original line opened in late 2015 and early 2016, and more are underway. According to Valley Metro, a regional agency that also operates an extensive bus network, light rail has generated a 42-per- cent increase in transit ridership since 2001, The Valley Metro light rail’s extended hours benefit residents and visitors looking to explore the cities’ night life. Here, a westbound leading to $8.9 billion in commercial, retail, train pauses at the 3rd Street/Jefferson Station with some of those passengers. Matthew Martin and public development along the route. “It’s fun to be part of a system that has Having opened exactly 60 years after the It cost $1.4 billion to build the initial 3.2-mile Northwest Extension, finished in exceeded almost everyone’s expectations, Street Railway’s demise, Valley Metro Rail’s line, of which $587 million came from a early 2016, cost $327 million. be it for ridership, economic development single line, for which planning started in New Starts grant from the Federal Transit or any of those measures,” Valley Metro 2000 and construction began in March Administration. An additional $59 million ROUTE AND OPERATIONS CEO Scott Smith tells Trains. “We served 2005, is only 7 miles shorter than the entire came from a federal Congestion Mitiga- The line is designed to connect to 35 16 million passengers this year, which runs length of the old Street Railway’s four-line tion and Air Quality grant, and $754 mil- bus routes that run on intersecting arteri- eight to 10 years ahead of projection. We’ve system. It also serves the eastern suburbs lion came from local funds. (Maricopa als, primarily at 20- or 30-minute head- attracted nearly $9 billion in real estate ac- that were not previously connected to County voters approved a county-wide ways. “Until recently and even now, many tivity along the 26 miles [of light rail line], Phoenix by rail transit. Valley Metro Rail sales tax in 2004 with 57.7 percent of the bus routes don’t run on the frequency that which dwarfs the activity there before the ranks No. 14 among U.S. light rail systems vote. Other local funds include Phoenix allows for the connectivity we’d like,” Smith line went in.” in length of revenue trackage, No. 17 in and Tempe sales taxes and general-fund says. “Luckily, Phoenix voters in August The conservative Arizona Free Enter- number of stations, and is the fourth-most- revenue from the city of Mesa.) The 3.1- 2015 approved a major transit tax initia- prise Club disputes these figures, main- recently opened and fourth-most-recently mile Central Mesa Extension, completed tive, allowing us to increase frequency on taining that the ridership increase took expanded of those. in late 2015, cost $199 million, and the key routes and match light rail hours.” place before light rail opened, and that the Valley Metro Rail extends 26.3 miles system has lost two bus riders for every from the center of the eastern suburb of 19th Ave/Dunlap light rail rider gained. Mesa west through the downtown areas of Metropolitan Phoenix is the country’s Tempe and Phoenix, serving 35 stations. 12th-largest urban area, covering 9,071 The original line was 20 miles long and had square miles of Sonoran Desert in a two- 28 stations. In the center of Phoenix, the county area of central Arizona’s line turns north, then jogs slightly west, Valley Metro Rail 19th Ave/Montebello TC ARIZONA Above: Valley Metro traverses the intersection of Third Avenue and Jefferson Street in Valley. Centering around Phoenix, the then north again, before terminating at the Bus lines Phoenix. Pages 38-39: A Valley Metro light rail train passes ’s state capital and sixth-largest city in the intersection of 19th Avenue and Dunlap Central Ave/Camelback TC Streets main campus in Tempe on March 15, 2010. The agency’s 50 Kinkisharyo-built, double- continental U.S. by land area at 516.7 Avenue in northwest Phoenix, 8 miles from Phoenix articulated cars run on 750-volt D.C. overhead power. Two photos, Steve Glischinski square miles (and the most populous of downtown. It runs on a dedicated right-of- the top 20 by land area), the valley’s road way, primarily in the medians of arterial na University. With funding from a bond south in Tucson, has a College of Medicine system is laid out in a grid, with major roads, interfacing with rubber-tired traffic Northern Arizona University – Phoenix issue approved by voters in 2005, the city campus in with about north-south and east-west arterials about at 191 at-grade intersections. Among other Light rail purchased several blocks of land adjacent to 150 students, and Flagstaff-based North Ar- a mile apart. points of interest, the line serves Phoenix Central maintenance the Central Station Transit Center, which izona’s Phoenix Biomedical Campus has The area had been without rail transit Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona Station TC PHX Sky Traincomplex also serves the city’s central bus hub and several hundred students. Combined, the since the Phoenix Street Railway was re- State University’s main campus in Tempe Arizona State University – Phoenix light rail station. Arizona State now uses universities have spent roughly $355 million placed with buses in 1948, after most of its and its satellite campus in downtown Phoe- Phoenix Sky Harbor Tempe Transport Ctr. TC N International Airport light rail to connect the downtown site, on campus expansions and expect their stu- cars were destroyed by a fire the previous nix, the sports venues and convention cen- Sycamore/Main St TC Mesa Dr

which serves more than 11,500 students, to dent populations to grow substantially start- year. With the automobile dominant, and ter in central Phoenix, and most of Phoe- 0 Scale 5 miles Arizona State its main campus in Tempe, a 30-minute ing in 2017. Overall, five of the 35 light rail with decentralized development patterns, nix’s art and history museums. Valley © 2017 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Rick Johnson University – Main campus ride. The University of Arizona, whose stops serve higher education institutions. traffic congestion ranks near the middle of Metro’s rail maintenance and operations and Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority Scale is approximate main campus is more than 100 miles to the Thanks to consistent public support and 51 U.S. areas. center is just east of the airport.

40 Trains JULY 2017 www.TrainsMag.com 41 farebox recovery ratio is on par with those of New York-New Jersey’s PATH, Phila- delphia’s SEPTA (including Regional Rail), and San Diego’s MTS. Valley Metro’s re- covery ratio is 10 points better than those of Atlanta’s MARTA, Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Metro Transit, and Seattle’s King County Metro. Only seven U.S. rail transit systems have better operating ratios. One of the line’s unique features is its General Electric-supplied train timing and operations control system. The line is man- ually operated. Traffic signals governing the line’s crossing of all 191 intersections are timed so that a train that dwells 15 seconds at each station and maintains a consistent speed of 35 mph between stations will see nothing but green lights — unless a pedes- trian activates a crosswalk signal (pedestri- ans are given priority). Line controllers in The Valley Metro light rail runs along the the operations control room do not actively north edge of the Arizona State University control trains most of the time; they moni- main campus in Tempe. Here, an eastbound tor the system, control the entry and exit of train stops at the Veterans Way/College trains to and from the yard, and direct train Avenue station on June 16, 2011. operators during unusual circumstances. One of Valley Metro’s daily challenges is Southbound Car No. 119A pauses on the west side of the system at 19th Avenue/ the short overnight window for vehicle and Montebello Transit Center, north of downtown Phoenix, in February 2009. Patrick Yough track maintenance. On weekdays, the last pect of the maintenance and operations on Central Avenue from where the line good place to start from.” train does not return to the yard until 1:25 facility is that 35 percent of its electricity currently jogs east in the center of down- Asked if he was worried that anything Smith raves about the seamlessness offered mile line for up to 22 hours each day, a.m., and the first train goes out at 3:31 (and all power for the yard tracks’ overhead town. The city council approved spending might have a negative impact on the expan- by the Sky Train automated , which Superintendent of Light Rail Vehicle a.m., leaving only 2 hours of complete wire) comes from an on-site solar plant. $50 million on the final design of this ex- sion plans, Smith made clear his concern was built in 2014 at Sky Harbor airport. Maintenance Ken Raghunandan says. downtime. On weekends, the last evening Spanning 1.15 acres, 2,800 solar panels are tension on April 19, 2017. Another line about the status of federal funding, but was “Those connections and that usage [have] “Temperatures under the console inside trains return as the first morning trains de- mounted at ground level and on parking lot will run west on Van Buren Street, serving most focused on making sure the region’s far exceeded what we anticipated. We’re the cab can reach a sweltering 160 degrees. part, creating virtually non-stop operations. shade canopies. These produce 1.3 million the state capitol complex and continuing voters extend the dedicated tax for transit real excited about the connectivity that has Specialized cooling systems had to be However, this arrangement is similar to kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power on to 79th Avenue and Interstate 10. A and roads approved in 2005 and set to sun- generated,” he adds. created to keep electrical components other transit agencies of the same size. 123 homes. The facility is also designed to third will extend northeast from down- set in 2025. Valley Metro is already putting Valley Metro has 50 double-articulated operating properly.” Valley Metro manages to complete most conserve water, with vehicle washing town to . The fourth together a plan to sell the extension measure light rail vehicles produced by Kinkisharyo To further combat extreme ambient routine and emergency track, signal, and equipment designed to recycle water. Used will continue west on Dunlap Avenue to to the public. The ballot language must be International, a subsidiary of the Japanese temperatures, which can top 110 degrees, overhead power system repairs within water is captured and delivered through a serve the Metrocenter Mall area, eventual- determined by the state legislature, unless a carbuilder. Final assembly was done in the cars have tinted windows, and stations in- those hours, and to clean, inspect, and ser- solid waste separator for reuse. Each vehicle ly extending into Glendale. Valley Metro pending bill is enacted to devolve that power Phoenix maintenance facility, using Ameri- clude extra shade, chilled water fountains, vice each trainset before sending it out for wash saves about 122 gallons, reducing is also building a 3-mile, 14-stop streetcar to local governments. can and Japanese-made components. and “cool surface” seating that’s covered the next day’s service. While train operators freshwater usage by 60 percent. line in downtown Tempe, which will con- “If [an extension fails], we’ll be working Trains are powered by 750-volt D.C. over- with a special heat-resistant paint. and their oversight are contracted out to Though each Valley Metro Rail station nect with light rail at both ends: the Mill with the system we have at the time. But head catenary from 21 substations. Each A one-way fare is $2, and a day pass is -based Inc., has similar features — a platform, benches, Avenue/3rd Street and Apache Boulevard/ we’re hopeful that the citizenry’s embrace of vehicle seats 66 and has a total capacity (in- $4. There are ticket-vending machines at Valley Metro staff performs all vehicle and shade canopies, and ticket vending Dorsey Lane stations. the system will encourage them to vote to cluding standees) of 200, with room for up each station platform, and tickets must be infrastructure maintenance. machines — no two stations are identical, Final design on the $186 million street- continue their investment,” Smith says. to four wheelchair users and four bicycles. validated before use. Valley Metro Rail’s One unique and climate-appropriate as- thanks to the installation of public art com- car project is expected to finish within the The Valley Metro light rail system is ap- They operate mainly in two-car trains, with missioned from 35 local and national artists. next six months, with construction starting proaching a decade of revenue service as the three-car trains (the maximum length that as early as late this year. Funding comes city closes its first century of development. It the platforms can accommodate) primarily THE FUTURE from regional Proposition 400, the city of has proven to be instrumental to an ongoing for special events. Trains run at intervals of Thanks to Phoenix’s Transportation 2050 Tempe, and a federal Small Starts grant. redefinition of greater Phoenix’s urban char- 12 minutes during the day on weekdays, 15 plan and a seven-tenths-percent city sales In a state whose Republican governor acter as the metropolis continues to grow. minutes on Saturdays, and 20 minutes late tax approved in August 2015 to fund transit was elected on a pledge not to raise taxes, With climate change promising to bring evenings, Sundays, and holidays. and other infrastructure improvements (55 Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, even more extreme temperatures and fur- When the temperature is above 80 de- percent voted in favor), Valley Metro is set staked his reputation on the measure’s pas- ther reduce the area’s already limited water grees, as it is during the day for the bulk of to build extensions in Phoenix that will sage, placing it ahead of his own re-election supply, the reduced energy use and more the year, light rail vehicles are air-condi- roughly triple the rail system’s mileage. campaign, and a city council majority also compact development aided by light rail will tioned to between 74 and 78 degrees, and “We’re really looking forward, in the next backed the tax hike. “We have support from prove the region’s investment of tax revenue maintaining the four-unit, air-conditioning 10 years, to stepping up what other commu- the citizenry to expand,” Smith says. “I’ve to be even more foresighted. system is a top priority. The air-condition- nities have done and moving this system gone to retirement communities and talked “If you look at the success of rail sys- ing capacity of a Valley Metro light rail car closer to 66 miles, connecting significant to conservative, fixed-income voters who tems here and in Denver, , is six times that of a typical Arizona home. parts of the area,” Smith says. “We’ll contin- you’d think would not be keen on paying for and Dallas, trains have been proven to “The stress on air-conditioning systems ue to enjoy the large-scale benefits other more transit. But the main question they work in Western cities,” Smith asserted. “It is significant, as the units work constantly metros have as their train systems improve.” asked me is how we can accelerate the ex- changes cities for the good. It gives people to keep cold air flowing through each 90- The light rail shops are located just east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Here, An extension will serve the city’s pansion of the light rail system. When that options, and when you give people op- foot train as it travels up and down the 26- car No. 113A sees some attention during a 2011 open house. Two photos, Matthew Martin southern neighborhoods, building south part of the electorate is supportive, that’s a tions, they’ll embrace it.” 2

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