Community members gathered this week to receive information and provide input on the addition of light rail stations at two locations along Washington Street.
Valley Metro presented the results on Monday and Tuesday of an initial evaluation comprised of residential feedback from an online survey and opinions from attendees of a meeting held back in May.
The station locations being evaluated are at Washington and 16th streets near Eastlake Community Center and Washington and 48th streets near the Disability Empowerment Center (DEC).
In the initial evaluation phase, three site options were assessed for each potential station through the following criteria: public support, potential ridership, station spacing, potential for service disruption and construct-ability.
According to a survey of 245 people, which included people at the May meeting and participants of an online questionnaire, 80 percent were in favor of the titled “Option C” for the potential Washington and 48th streets station because of its proximity to the DEC.
Many DEC members voiced their concerns about the first option, which Matthew Taunton of Valley Metro deemed the most feasible alternative, citing the two platform model (one on the right side of Washington for westbound Phoenix trains, and the eastbound to Tempe platform on the left) as the model least disruptive to existing routes because the streets would not have to be widened.
The steep uphill grade east on Washington could pose a serious challenge for many elderly members, who were quick to voice their disapproval of “Option A,” the aforementioned two platform model. “Option A” would be located on 48th and Washington streets, midway between the existing stations at 44th and Washington streets and Priest Drive and Washington Street in Tempe.
Garnering 8 percent approval in the survey, “Option A” was the least popular. Ten percent of those surveyed requested “Option B,” which would create a station roughly halfway between 48th Street and 51st Street.
As one resident pointed out, the decision may very well come down to convenience and accessibility, or feasibility, practicality and ease of construction.
It was too early to estimate costs, but the completion of the detailed assessment phase of the feasibility study in March was expected to provide more answers, both financially and logistically, for the residents of East Camelback Village and those who frequent the DEC.
Conversely, in the Eastlake Park community on Tuesday night, residents supported the “most feasible” light-rail station option. “Option A” was a station layout identical to the stops at Washington and 12th streets and Jefferson and 12th streets, with Jefferson trains running eastbound and Washington trains running westbound.
The same structural model was utilized in the concepts for options B and C — the only differences would be the location of the stations, which would be further east (“B” at Washington and 17th streets and, “C” at Washington and 18th streets) and closer to the desired half-mile interval between stops.
While the scope of the discussion Taunton led was aimed to be just at local additions on 16th Street and 48th Street, many residents were curious about the big picture, and Valley Metro’s vision for greater Phoenix.
Abhi Dayal, project manager for Valley Metro, added that the City Council subcommittee just approved the South Central line, which was discussed by the Central City Village Planning Committee about two weeks ago.
Six miles are currently under construction in Northwest Phoenix. This will connect the light rail to downtown Glendale via bus, and to downtown Mesa on the east Valley
Dayal handled financial questions from community members. After Dayal revealed the cost of building a single light-rail station to be between $8 million and $13 million, many in the audience were taken aback.
“Is Valley Metro financially solvent, and could they take a hit like that?” said Reverend Reginald D. Walton of the Phillips Memorial CME Church, located on the 1400 block of Adams Street.
“There is no available funding right now for this project, which is why right now we are just doing a feasibility study,” Dayal responded.
Walton also asked, “Is ridership enough to generate revenue, and be in the black instead of the red?”
As Taunton noted, there is a significant increase in ridership on Sundays, most likely from churchgoers using the light rail to get to and from services.
Another resident, Gregory Tucker, who commutes from ASU in Tempe and runs a bike shop downtown, asked about the possibility of express trains. Currently the only express services offered by Valley Metro are via express buses and RAPID.
“There is no current plan, but the biggest opportunity is to improve traffic signals, the train currently does not have priority over auto traffic,” Taunton said.
Dayal added that Phoenix’s light rail system is “unique in that it was the largest of its kind to open.”
Both the DEC and Eastlake community groups appeared collectively frustrated with the vague timetable of stations they viewed as necessities. They wanted to know why they were left out of the initial planning and building phase, and therefore possible federal funding.
The final study results will be available in June 2014.
Contact the reporter at Stefan.Modrich@asu.edu
