A downtown Phoenix high rise condo development called One Lexington is the first advertiser to place ads on a Phoenix light rail station. It has four ads in downtown Phoenix. Light rail people estimate that the light rail will generate $350,000 of ad revenue in its first year.
Arizona Republic: “Faced with a much larger budget shortfall than expected, the Phoenix City Council might shut down ALEX, the Ahwatukee Local Explorer circulator bus, and four similar free neighborhood bus programs in other parts of the city.” The city may cut similar service in Deer Valley, Desert Ridge, Maryvale and Sunnyslope. Does Phoenix favor the light rail over buses?
Arizona Republic: “The Phoenix transit staff says the city can no longer afford its $5.2 million system of free neighborhood circulator buses and should get rid of the program by July. . . . About 5,000 people, including some of the cities poorest, oldest and youngest residents, rely on the free minibuses to get them to jobs, stores and community centers.”
Arizona Republic: “With the city in the middle of a budget crisis, Sgt. Trent Crump acknowledges it’s probably a bad time for the Phoenix Police Department to break in a new $4.15 million surveillance plane. Crump said he understands the plane likely will raise eyebrows among residents, because Phoenix also is eliminating jobs and cutting employees’ pay.”
Arizona Republic: “The coalition of 17 agencies, including Surprise, Maricopa Association of Governments and BNSF Railway, wants to put passenger trains on freight lines and link to other modes of transportation, such as light rail and buses. . . . The Wittmann-Queen Creek corridor, which combines two routes, is forecast to bring 10,000 passengers a day by 2030 . . . . The projected cost was $16.7 million per mile for passenger service on the Grand Avenue corridor, from Wittmann to central Phoenix, and $14.9 million a mile for the Southeast corridor. In comparison, light rail’s cost is $65 million per mile.”
Where do these idiots come from? The State of Arizona is $2 billion in the whole, Phoenix is #244 million in the whole, all the cities and counties are hurting financially because tax revenue is way down. Phoenix is building a $1.2 billion extension of the light rail to Sky Harbor airport, but doesn’t have the money. Phoenix is also on the hook for $300 million for the new downtown convention center. State and local governments in Arizona are cutting spending at all levels. Nevertheless, some loons think government should spend money it doesn’t have to help a small number of people who might take the train – they estimate 10,000 people a day by 2030. That is 20 YEARS FROM NOW!
Please read the story. The nut jobs who want the nifty passenger trains suggest several tax increases to pay for the new passenger rail that virtually nobody will ride.