by bryan | Oct 4, 2012 | News & Information
Courtesy of Metro Light Rail Phoenix, AZ (Sept. 24, 2012) Valley Metro wants to know if you are up to the challenge of sharing your ride at least once a week in the month of October. Employers, local residents and anyone that makes a regular drive to work or school is asked to consider alternative travel options next month. “Sharing a ride is beneficial on so many levels,” said Dawn M. Coomer, Valley Metro Business Services Manager. “You can add minutes or hours to your day and arrive at your destination less stressed.” Considering vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, limiting the drive alone trip just one day a week can help save up to $70 a month. According to regional air quality experts, 49 miles of vehicle travel creates one pound of pollution. With an average Valley daily commute of 32 miles, using alternative modes can reduce ground-level ozone and the additional churn of particulate matter or dust particles from vehicle use. Western Refining employee, Mary Korba, says that joining a Valley Metro vanpool has been an exceptionally positive experience. “Not only am I saving money and time, I have developed lifelong friendships,” says Korba. “In fact, I met my husband while riding in a Valley Metro van. I guess you could say that spending quality time together twice each day has really paid off.” Rideshare Month is an annual county-wide event that encourages the use of alternative commute options, public transit, carpools, vanpools or bicycling to help reduce emissions from vehicle use, decrease congestion and conserve energy. Here are the ways local residents and employers can participate in Rideshare...
by bryan | Jan 19, 2012 | News & Information, Real Estate Development, Transit Oriented Development
by Jim Walsh – Jan. 20, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic Editor’s Note: Light Rail Connect promotes Live, Work and Play in the light rail corridor. Transit Oriented Development will play an important role in the light rail corridor. A planned investment fund may help create a taste of urban living similar to that of Boston or New York without leaving the Arizona sunshine. The $30 million Sustainable Communities Development Fund would create incentives to build affordable housing along the Metro light-rail line in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix. Projects funded by the incentives would feature transportation-oriented development, a high-density concept that generally features retail and commercial development on the lower floors with residential units on the upper floors. “We want to work with our non-profit partners to create a pipeline of projects,” said Teresa Brice, a Mesa native and former mayoral candidate who is among the fund’s chief sponsors as executive director of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. “We call this inventing a Plan B for the Valley of Sun,” she said, offering residents an alternative to the urban sprawl that has contributed to poor air quality and long commutes on jammed freeways. The fund would help Mesa capitalize on the extension of Metro’s light-rail line and potentially aid in redevelopment efforts near the city’s only station at Sycamore and Main Street. With the exception of Mekong Plaza, an Asian-themed shopping center that is barely visible to light-rail riders, redevelopment has lagged near the Mesa station, which still has several boarded-up buildings nearby. Mesa has only 1 mile of light rail, but a 3.1-mile extension is scheduled to open along Main Street...
by bryan | Jan 19, 2012 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information
Gary Nelson – Dec. 6, 2011 Courtesy of The Republic | azcentral.com Editor’s Note: Light Rail Connect promotes Live, Work, Ride in the light rail corridor. Fortified by hot coffee and a $35 million federal grant, Metro Light Rail kicked off the next leg of construction Monday with a promise to open the downtown Mesa leg a year early. Monday’s event at the doorstep of the Mesa Arts Center served chiefly to unveil signs that will mark the 3-mile extension from Sycamore Street to east of Mesa Drive. Actual work in the form of utility relocation won’t begin until spring. But Steve Banta, CEO of Metro Light Rail, made news when he told the shivering crowd, “Our desire is to deliver the project a little bit early. We’d like to deliver it at the end of 2015.” That would be seven years after Mesa celebrated the opening of its busy Sycamore light-rail station on a December day that was even more blustery than the inhospitable weather that greeted Monday’s crowd. “We are here today to stake our claim on the extension of Mesa light rail down to the center city,” Banta said. The extension, he said, “is progressing very well” with local funding in hand and last month’s congressional approval for about half of what the federal government is expected to kick in. Banta said Metro continues to work with merchants along the extension to help their businesses survive construction. “We will work hand in hand with them to minimize that impact,” he said. Mike James, Mesa’s transit director, said there will be traffic disruptions when crews begin infrastructure work along the...
by bryan | Nov 5, 2011 | Calendar, Entertainment, Event Calendar, News & Information
The annual event is scheduled for today, Nov 5th at CityScape. BillingTree RockBlock CityScape 1 E. Washington St.Phoenix, AZ, 85003 PHONE: 866-977-6849 November 5, 2011 Saturday, 5:30 PM ON THE WEB: mybillingtree.com/rockblock/cityscapephoenix.com PRICE: $20 – $100 : $100 for VIP dinner, drinks and concert, $25 for general admission on day of event, $20 in advance The annual charity rock festival includes classic rock band REO Speedwagon, former Boston singer Fran Cosmo, the band Rossmore and Bill Fay whose credits include “The Hangover” movies and “Independence Day”. Doors open at 5:30 and music begins at 6 p.m. Free roundtrip Metro light rail is available the day of the event when you present proof of online ticket pre-purchase to the conductor. Presented by Phoenix-based BillingTree, The Arizona Republic, 12 News and Azcentral.com. All proceeds benefit several Valley charities via Season For...
by bryan | Nov 2, 2011 | light rail apartments and rentals, News & Information
[Editor’s Note: LRA Real Estate Group manages properties in the light rail corridor. Light Rail Connect endorses LRA Real Estate for their smart decision. This fits in tightly with the Light Rail Connect motto: “We make it easy to live, work and play near the light rail”] Drive down the light rail corridor any day, and you will find thousands of houses and properties near the light rail. A percentage of these homes are owned by intelligent investors. And, investors are looking for aggressive management to care and keep the properties full and maintained. Call LRA Real Estate property management for fast and courteous quote to discuss your situation. 480.734.7878, or bryan@LRAphx.com • lock in the 2012 rate of $50/house management fee • move before year end • Act now • payments made to owners quickly • investor friendly • broker owns rentals and understands issues ...
by bryan | Nov 2, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, Mesa City, News & Information
by Art Thomason – Nov. 1, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic [Editor’s Note: The Presidential debate next to the light rail extension in Mesa at the Arts Center shows the powerful will show up. Light Rail Advisors supports free and open political debate] Mesa will host the Republican presidential debate on Nov. 30. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Tom Morrissey made the announcement Tuesday that Mesa Arts Center will be the location. The $98 million performing arts venue was a major reason that CNN, which is hosting the debate, selected Mesa, said Mesa City Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh. “When CNN toured the MAC recently they were simply blown away by all of its facilities which are well suited for handling all of their trucks and equipment,” he said. “I think it’s huge for the city to actually acquire an event like this. It’s a major news event that will have CNN headquartered here for a couple days for the debate. It’s an opportunity to showcase the city for a major national event like this.” The nationally televised debate is being sponsored by the Arizona Republican Party and will be conducted and aired live on CNN at 6 p.m. local time on Nov. 30. The arts center, which opened in 2005, is a world-class facility well-suited to host this world-class event, Morrissey said in a prepared statement. The complex is situated on a seven-acre campus and incomes more than 212,000 square feet of theaters, studios and exhibition space. “Mesa Arts Center is an ideal venue for the debate,” said Morrissey said in a release. “This state-of-the-art facility will be front and center as Arizona...
