by bryan | Jul 24, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information, Uncategorized
by Jim Walsh – Jun. 25, 2011 06:51 AM The Arizona Republic Mormon Church leaders are taking an active role in planning for the day when the Metro light-rail extension reaches the historic Arizona Temple in 2016. A church architect with extensive experience is serving on a committee planning the light-rail extension. A prominent Gilbert bishop and developer has been buying and fixing up small houses near the temple. And that developer, C. Dennis Barney, has donated $40,000 to help Mesa complete an overhaul of its zoning code that will make urban redevelopment easier. His donation comes with no strings attached, and Barney has no proposals before city boards or commissions, city officials say. Barney, a candidate for Maricopa County supervisor, said that he and his late father, T. Dennis Barney, bought the properties to improve the appearance of the area around the temple, which was built in 1927. For many years, it was the only temple in Arizona. Barney said he and his family are not motivated by profit, although he is anticipating there will be redevelopment someday. “We’re not in a rush to do something. It’s been more of a legacy project,” Barney said. “I think we have accomplished what we set out to do already, to a certain extent.” Barney said his donation to Mesa is a good investment because the zoning-code overhaul and light rail will set the tone in the city for decades to come. He looks at himself as a partner of Mesa and the Mormon Church. “If you view the area today compared to, say, 10 years ago, there’s been a lot of progress....
by bryan | Jul 24, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information, Uncategorized
John Genovese – Jul. 15, 2011 The Arizona Republic Valley Metro has received the required environmental clearance to allow for its 3.1-mile light rail extension into central Mesa. The “Finding of No Significant Impact” was issued by the Federal Transit Administration after Valley Metro officials were required to submit an environmental impact report to the agency. “This is another significant step toward implementing the voter-approved extension of light rail,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said on Thursday. “(The extension) is so important to not only Mesa, but to the entire metro region.” According to a press release, transit officials have spent more than a year reviewing potential property, historic preservation sites, and environmental factors to plan for the rail extension. “This is good news that took a lot of hard work by METRO working closely with the City of Mesa,” said METRO CEO Steve Banta. “It allows us to initiate other key areas of work including utility relocation and real estate acquisition discussions.” The planned extension will be built through downtown Mesa on Main Street, ending at Mesa Drive. The section will include four new stations and a park-and-ride lot. Destinations such as the Mesa Arts Center and Nile Theater will be alongside the new addition. Officials said rail planners are still working to finalize the project design, and the extension is expected to be operational by...
by bryan | Jul 24, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information, Uncategorized
by Emily Gersema – Jul. 16, 2011 The Arizona Republic Metro light rail held two open houses recently in a neighborhood west of the state Capitol to address residents’ questions about its recommended 11-mile west extension, but turnout was small. The proposal under consideration by Metro’s advisory board involves laying track on Jefferson Street beginning at Central Avenue, then past the Capitol and state buildings to the Black Canyon Freeway. It would proceed north to Interstate 10 and then run west to 79th Avenue. While at one of the open houses on Wednesday, Terry Gruver of Metro light rail said officials have had to use a different tactic to connect with residents in the St. Matthew Neighborhood: walking door to door. To draw residents to the open houses at Neighborhood Ministries, 19th Avenue and Van Buren Street, Metro officials left door hangers at the homes along Jefferson Street from 19th Avenue to the Black Canyon Freeway, Gruver said. The hangers were written in English and Spanish. St. Matthew Neighborhood is the largest residential area that would be affected by the proposal. The rest of the route would parallel freeways. But Metro is facing some difficulties communicating with the St. Matthew neighbors that it did not encounter when proposing the current line, which runs from Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa. The high-poverty St. Matthew Neighborhood, sandwiched by Fillmore and Jackson streets, the Black Canyon Freeway and 19th Avenue, is comprised primarily of renters and some homeowners. Most residents are Latino blue-collar workers, and many of them speak no English. Many do not have computers at home, which for Metro means e-mail updates are ineffective. One neighbor,...
by bryan | Jul 24, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information, Uncategorized
by Emily Gersema – Jul. 21, 2011 Arizona Business Gazette One of the stations on the Metro light rail gives travelers a cool refuge from the desert heat. The station at Third and Washington streets near the Phoenix Convention Center is cooled by a solar-powered water-cooling system that Mayor Phil Gordon says is a prototype for systems he hopes will be installed at other light-rail and bus stations. The cooling fans above the seats on platforms were turned on just in time for the rush of passengers during Major League Baseball’s All-Star week. “This was at no cost to the taxpayers,” Gordon said. The $300,000 project was paid with a mixture of funding from the company leading the project, NRG Thermal, and the contractors who worked on the project, said David Gaier, a spokesman for the company in Princeton, N.J. Gordon said he was interested in adding the solar-run cooling systems when he saw similar systems in Dubai. Jim Lodge of NRG said the chilled water from an NRG chilled-water plant near downtown Phoenix is pumped through coils in the upper section of the station. Solar panels on top of the station collect energy to power a set of fans, which blow the cooled air onto passengers waiting for the train. Passengers can turn the cooler on by pushing a button. NRG officials said they will cover the cost of maintaining the system at the station. Gordon said other similar cooling systems could be added to the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix buildings. The NRG Energy Center is a chilled-water plant that has, since 2001, provided chilled water for cooling systems at 34 downtown buildings,...
by bryan | Jul 24, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information, Uncategorized
by Sean Holstege – Jul. 17, 2011 The Arizona Republic When the Valley’s economy was unraveling in 2008, transit service was an early casualty. Three years of cuts ensued. Dozens of bus lines were eliminated, rerouted or truncated. Wait times grew, and fares shot up on buses and light rail. Some of those transit cuts, and the resulting hardship for many riders, might have been averted if the Valley’s transit network were run by a single unified agency, an Arizona Republic analysis indicates. Unified transit systems are common among fast-growing Western cities. As it is, in Maricopa County, 11 local transit agencies provide bus and rail service, creating redundant costs in administrative personnel and contracted services such as bus operations and security. At $70 million a year, administrative costs make up nearly a quarter of the system’s total operating costs, making the Valley the third most top-heavy region in the country, according to data from federal and local agencies. Some local leaders believe those costs can be cut and are talking favorably of an eventual merger of transit agencies. “In a perfect world, I’d set up a base regional transit system, managed by a single regional agency, based not on city lines but on travel needs,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said. He and about a dozen other transit officials say a single agency could not only save the taxpayer-subsidized system money but also eliminate service gaps, such as poorly timed connections between cities, that inconvenience current riders and keep away prospective ones. Efforts to integrate the system over the years have been stalled by city leaders who fear losing local control and not...
by bryan | Jun 5, 2011 | Jobs, light rail corridor, News & Information, Uncategorized
Where, oh where are the jobs, today? Looking for a good job? Want to have an easy way to get to work, avoiding the hassles of traffic and parking? Today you have well over 200 choices! Jobs along light rail are available right now, today. Browse the list of opportunities on the growing list of careers. So, maybe it is not exactly what you have working at for the last decade. But now the economy is changing, and although it may be a little scary, it also can be exciting and challenging to walk into a solid, stable position. Jobs along light rail We have set up a unique search tool for you to locate job, keep an eye on a particular geographic area, or follow an industry. So what are you waiting for! Contact us to voice your opinion. We are here to provide opportunities to work. ...
