West Phoenix and Northeast light rail extension projects might be at stake as Phoenix City Council considers moving funds to repair a large number of deteriorating streets.
It’s a decision that could result in the cancellation of extensions entirely.
The Street Transportation Department presented a report detailing the the city’s street issues at Wednesday’s city council meeting. The report, which the council requested in August, aimed to present potential funding options for approval by the Citizens Transportation Commission, including options that include delaying light rail extensions.
The review showed that, of the more than 4,863 miles of public roads that the Street Department maintains, roughly 70 percent of those roads are in less than optimum condition.
This is based on the Pavement Management System, a tool used by cities throughout the country to evaluate road conditions. Officials use a 0 to 100 rating system to evaluate the condition of roads taking into account the payments’ surface roughness, environmental stresses and structural condition.
A road must receive a minimum score of 70 to be considered to be in good condition. The Street Transportation Department estimates that it would need an additional $1.65 billion to elevate 4,085 miles of road to a minimum good condition.
All the funding options presented in the report depend on reallocating funds collected through T2050, a sales tax voters approved in 2015 to fund transportation infrastructure.
One of the plans would delay or cancel the light rail projects in West and Northeast Phoenix which are slated for completion in 2026 and 2034, respectively.
Sean Sweat, chair of a political action committee dedicated to electing urbanists into office, said any delays to the light rail projects would effectively terminate them. This is because T2050 expires in 2050, meaning that funding will dry up at that time as well.
“The council is being dishonest when it says it would delay the project, because it would be delaying it to a time when there is no funding, which is the same as cancelling it,” Sweat said.
Other options would accelerate the use of T2050 funds. Officials report that doing so would require $12 to $15 million in debt service payments from T2050 revenue for the next 20 years.
Sweat said any option that requires the city to take on debt is fiscally irresponsible.
“Acquiring debt is no way to pay for regular maintenance,” he said. “If the city takes on debt, that tells you that we’re not taking in enough revenue.”
Sweat said a big part of why people choose to drive is because there is a lack of quality alternatives.
Residents who gave citizen comments at the council meeting expressed support for reallocating funds at the expense of the light rail projects.
“Our roads are deteriorating,” said Tristahn Schaub, vice president of the Arcadia Camelback Mountain Neighborhood Association. “We do appreciate and support the forward-thinking goals of T2050, Complete Streets and the bike master plan, but all of these goals are only achievable because we have streets.”
Luis Acosta, a Phoenix native, said the light rail is a “total waste of money” and that the cities roads should take priority because most residents rely on cars rather than public transportation to move through the city.
“It’s really unfortunate that because the feds are dangling a carrot of 500 or 600 million dollars of free money,” Acosta said. “Because in the end, we, the taxpayers, will foot the bill.”
The Council voted to continue its discussion Oct. 3 if the commission approves the item.
It will make its decision during its next public meeting on Sept. 27, held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Public Transit Building.
Contact the reporter at jicazare@asu.edu.
