Light rail is new to us here in Phoenix. This is not the first light rail implementation that I have experienced. I have also experienced many of the service changes that took place as a result of the implementation of light rail in Los Angeles. Some implementations such as the Blue Line and especially the Gold Line had some significant bus interface changes.
Several years ago, I had proposed several light rail interface fixed-route bus service changes some were somewhat implemented because they made sense, others were not used at all.
But now, here are the Top-5 issues that I have with the service changes:
5. Route 72 routing around the Tempe Transportation Center.
Tempe did something really nice at the University-Rural station, they placed a mini-transit center at the station for the 72 and two Orbit routes. But, they also kept the 72 going into the Downtown Tempe Transportation Center. I ask why? Downtown Tempe is already loaded up with service and with traffic. The 72 already interfaces at University-Rural and between the light rail and two Orbit routes, there's plenty of capacity between Downtown Tempe Transportation Center and University-Rural. This is also consistent with the changes made to the 81 to take that out of Downtown Tempe (Which I supported). The 72 is already a very very long route and has been very prone to delays. Cutting a little bit of running time will help the route's on-time performance.
4. No changes made to Route 16.
Most of the routes that cross the streets that make up the light rail alignment do so naturally and many of these routes cross the alignment at stations. Some routes, such as the 30, 45, 60, 96 and 104 were modified to serve stations. One of those routes, 104 resulted in a 1.5 mile deviation to the route. While many of these changes were made by Mesa and Phoenix made sense, I still do not understand why no changes were made to the 16. The 16 crosses the alignment at Jefferson/Washington but with the stations at 12th and 24th Streets, the 16 is a half mile from one station and a full mile to another. A simple deviation of the 16 over to the 12th St. Station could have been done to bring this route to the LRT.
3. What Mesa did with the 104.
Now Mesa did several things here. First of all, they put the 104 into the Sycamore Station but they also took the route out of the Senior Center and put it into Mesa Riverview. WHY? Mesa could have prevented the launching of the BUZZ shuttle if they just have kept the 104 on it's current routing. With the 104 going into the Sycamore Station, they did not have to re-route the north terminal to the Riverview. A transfer could have been made at the Station to reach the Riverview on the 96. With the BUZZ not interfacing the light rail, there is no true link between Center Street in the heart of Downtown Mesa and the light rail.
2. Frequency of service north of Montebello on Route 15
The 15 replaced a section of the old Red Line. This is a very very very highly ridden segment, especially since it's a direct link to Metrocenter. When the Red Line was around, it had 15 minute headway (frequency of service) and 30 on the weekends. With extending the 15 along this section, the 15's headway came with it (30 weekdays and 60 weekends). With the 15 being the primary link between the light rail and the city's second largest transit center, why are we causing such a substantial bottleneck (1:3 ratio on weekdays and 1:4 ratio on weekends). I feel that the City of Phoenix could have lightened that load by putting additional service on the 15 north of Montebello only. I feel that north of Montebello, route 15 should provide service every 15 minutes on weekday peak hours, 30 minutes on weekday base and evening hours and every 30 minutes on weekends. South of Montebello, service should continue to be every 30 minutes weekdays and every 60 minutes weekends. There is no need to change the south end of the 15 since a viable method for accessing the airport (44th Street Station to the Airport Shuttle) is available.
and now for what I feel was the biggest mistake....
1. Creation of the Valley Metro Link
I really think this was a really bad idea. The idea of trying to use a limited stop bus on a street that has not been tried or tested with a local route first. Because this alignment has not had service before and there is not a major demand for service in this area yet, the Link only has about a 5-7 minute improvement over the local route 40 along the route between Superstition Springs Mall and the Sycamore Station. Instead of the Main St. Link, express trips from Superstition Springs Park & Ride to Sycamore Station during peak hours should have been established. I feel that there are better candidates for limited stop service, such as reassigning some of the resources that are doing Pima-bound local trips on the 29 and making those Pima-bound limited stop between 67th Avenue and 44th Street with full stops outside that area. Now, they are looking at doing one for Country Club/Arizona Avenue, a street that right now does not have weekday service after 7PM or any weekend service.
If they worried less about marketing and bringing the service to where it is needed, we would have the services where the people need it instead of creating a second class of service.
Opinions are those of my own as a private citizen only. They do not reflect the opinions of the RPTA or any member agency or contractor.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Phoenix Light Rail - One Week Later
Well... we have now had a light rail system in Phoenix for one week now. I have taken several rides on the train (since I work in Downtown PHX and also, I work for transit.. so it would only make sense). Now, while the system was free, people flocked to the train like people flocking to Six Flags' newest coaster. Many people wanted to try it out and ride it because "it was free".
Now that the "free" part has been removed from the equation, let's see where we are now. Before the light rail, I was a frequent rider of the 1-Washington and the Red Line. The 1 buses have always been pretty empty and the Red Line was filled with every walk of life and in some cases, the odors to go wih them. This is why I preferred riding the 1. (Also, because on weekends, the Red Line was operated by a different contractor and I found myself having to guide them through the route).
The people I have been seeing on the light rail are not the same people who have been riding the buses. I am seeing more older folks, more families and more people who have realized that they can either park their car at a station and get on the train or they live near the alignment.
While there are many riders on the trains who are dependent on transit, I am noticing a lot of riders on here who have the option to drive but are using transit. This is more than just your typical express riders.
When I ride a train here, I feel like I am in a more progressive city riding the trains such as San Francisco, Portland or Denver. I have been able to strike up some good conversations, both with and without the lanyard (identifying me as a Valley Metro employee) on. Most of my experiences since I moved back to Arizona 13 years ago is there's a lot of animosity and a lot of people with a "me" attitude. This can be seen in various aspects of Valley life, especially on the freeways.
But for some reason, the people who have been riding the trains do not meet that criteria of animosity. They are getting out, chatting with total strangers and exploring. The way I see it, it's a support group meeting in Phoenix that meets every 10 minutes.
There have been a couple of minor problems. I have noticed stops that are not being called by the automatic annunciator system (especially this early in the game when blind riders may not know all the stations yet to be able to count stops as a contingency). We are supposed to have next train displays and announcements at the stations, those are not working. Also, it would be nice if Valley Metro publishes a more detailed schedule.
There have been a couple of accidents where people have ran the lights and ran in front of railcars.
I have been hearing complaints about the traffic signal coordination and that the train seems to get stuck at red lights even though the train is supposed to have signal priority. I have not seen much of this in Phoenix. I have been noticing it more in Tempe. Perhaps it's just me.
There are many fun opportunities along the rail. In addition to Chase Field and US Airways Arena, the venue for the Renegade Rollergirls, the 5th & Madison Event Center is within walking distance of the trains.
Now that the Red Line is gone, I am more likely to ride the rails on Saturdays (except derby nights) instead of driving in.
This system has given me a new outlook on this city.
Arizona...
Welcome to my light rail sytem.. I am proud of it.
This is your light rail system too... I hope you are proud of it.
Now that the "free" part has been removed from the equation, let's see where we are now. Before the light rail, I was a frequent rider of the 1-Washington and the Red Line. The 1 buses have always been pretty empty and the Red Line was filled with every walk of life and in some cases, the odors to go wih them. This is why I preferred riding the 1. (Also, because on weekends, the Red Line was operated by a different contractor and I found myself having to guide them through the route).
The people I have been seeing on the light rail are not the same people who have been riding the buses. I am seeing more older folks, more families and more people who have realized that they can either park their car at a station and get on the train or they live near the alignment.
While there are many riders on the trains who are dependent on transit, I am noticing a lot of riders on here who have the option to drive but are using transit. This is more than just your typical express riders.
When I ride a train here, I feel like I am in a more progressive city riding the trains such as San Francisco, Portland or Denver. I have been able to strike up some good conversations, both with and without the lanyard (identifying me as a Valley Metro employee) on. Most of my experiences since I moved back to Arizona 13 years ago is there's a lot of animosity and a lot of people with a "me" attitude. This can be seen in various aspects of Valley life, especially on the freeways.
But for some reason, the people who have been riding the trains do not meet that criteria of animosity. They are getting out, chatting with total strangers and exploring. The way I see it, it's a support group meeting in Phoenix that meets every 10 minutes.
There have been a couple of minor problems. I have noticed stops that are not being called by the automatic annunciator system (especially this early in the game when blind riders may not know all the stations yet to be able to count stops as a contingency). We are supposed to have next train displays and announcements at the stations, those are not working. Also, it would be nice if Valley Metro publishes a more detailed schedule.
There have been a couple of accidents where people have ran the lights and ran in front of railcars.
I have been hearing complaints about the traffic signal coordination and that the train seems to get stuck at red lights even though the train is supposed to have signal priority. I have not seen much of this in Phoenix. I have been noticing it more in Tempe. Perhaps it's just me.
There are many fun opportunities along the rail. In addition to Chase Field and US Airways Arena, the venue for the Renegade Rollergirls, the 5th & Madison Event Center is within walking distance of the trains.
Now that the Red Line is gone, I am more likely to ride the rails on Saturdays (except derby nights) instead of driving in.
This system has given me a new outlook on this city.
Arizona...
Welcome to my light rail sytem.. I am proud of it.
This is your light rail system too... I hope you are proud of it.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Greetings from West Philly!
Greetings from Philadelphia. I am here to visit with the Prometheus Radio Project, an organization that is involved in the establishment of community radio stations in the US and around the world.
For those of you in derby, you may not be familiar with some of the activities that I do outside of derby. Well, long before derby, I have been involved with supporting the establishment of Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcast stations here in the United States. I operate a LPFM information site, lpfm.ws. We (Prometheus folks and myself) are going to be traveling to Washington DC for various activities. This includes me visiting my counterparts at the FCC for the first time.
As someone who has lived in the west most of her life, it has been a bit of a challenge adjusting to winter weather. But it is nice to see snow.
I was going to leave on Saturday morning, but because of the storm that came through Philly, I decided to leave on a Friday night red-eye flight, which looked like a better chance of me getting on (those who are familiar with airline employee non-revenue travel can understand what I mean). Despite what Dan The Plumber says about me sleeping in his truck on rides back from Tucson bouts, I can not sleep on a plane. Therefore, I was up the entire time. My laptop has a shit battery so I could not use it for too long but fortunately, this was one America West operated flight where the in-flight entertainment (music) actually worked so I pretty much had that keep me entertained. I had a center seat, fortunately it was not the last row in the plane.
I arrive in Philly at about 5:30AM. I take a cab from the airport to the home of Pete Tridish (the founder of Prometheus). One thing I like about Philadelphia is the regulated nature of the cabs. It cost me a $26 flat fare from the airport to get to the city. Not bad.
The home where Pete lives in as a turn-of-the-century three story home along Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. This specific home was previously used as a squat house for runaways teens who pretty much took over the once vacant house. A lot of the memories of those days are still in the house. So you will find portions of the house with exposed walls, exposed plumbing, slogans, bumper stickers and news clippings, etc on the wall. In many ways, it's very artsy. But despite that, the house is habitable. They call the house (K)notsquat.
Myself, due to internet connectivity issues, I am staying with one of the other Prometheus staffers that is within walking distance of the Prometheus headquarters and (K)notsquat. It's also a nice 3 story, 6-bedroom home, like most of the homes in this neighborhood. I really like this place.
I forgot to mention on Friday, I injured my right leg on the job. I was moving large boxes on a handtruck and forgot about a table and I hit it pretty hard. So I am right now nursing that injury and the cold weather is not helping that.
Since Friday morning, I had been up straight through Saturday afternoon. I was finally able to get a nap on Saturday afternoon and I was able to get a full night's sleep between Saturday night and this morning.
Today, I will be working with Prometheus to try to bring some alignment of the REC vision for LPFM with that of Prometheus and I am hoping to get Prometheus to take on some of the positions we have taken on LPFM that they have not really even taken on in the past.
When I get to DC, I am being told that one of the activists who will be there is a rollergirl from San Antonio. I am going to assume she's from Alamo City Rollergirls. This will be an interesting meeting. I did bring my camera. I just did not bring my plaid skirt .. lol.
I will be coming back Wednesday. With this injury and my exhaustion from travelling, I am definitely not going to be skating that night.
Until then, keep warm. I am trying to here. (*^u^*)
With derby loveMichi-chan=m
For those of you in derby, you may not be familiar with some of the activities that I do outside of derby. Well, long before derby, I have been involved with supporting the establishment of Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcast stations here in the United States. I operate a LPFM information site, lpfm.ws. We (Prometheus folks and myself) are going to be traveling to Washington DC for various activities. This includes me visiting my counterparts at the FCC for the first time.
As someone who has lived in the west most of her life, it has been a bit of a challenge adjusting to winter weather. But it is nice to see snow.
I was going to leave on Saturday morning, but because of the storm that came through Philly, I decided to leave on a Friday night red-eye flight, which looked like a better chance of me getting on (those who are familiar with airline employee non-revenue travel can understand what I mean). Despite what Dan The Plumber says about me sleeping in his truck on rides back from Tucson bouts, I can not sleep on a plane. Therefore, I was up the entire time. My laptop has a shit battery so I could not use it for too long but fortunately, this was one America West operated flight where the in-flight entertainment (music) actually worked so I pretty much had that keep me entertained. I had a center seat, fortunately it was not the last row in the plane.
I arrive in Philly at about 5:30AM. I take a cab from the airport to the home of Pete Tridish (the founder of Prometheus). One thing I like about Philadelphia is the regulated nature of the cabs. It cost me a $26 flat fare from the airport to get to the city. Not bad.
The home where Pete lives in as a turn-of-the-century three story home along Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. This specific home was previously used as a squat house for runaways teens who pretty much took over the once vacant house. A lot of the memories of those days are still in the house. So you will find portions of the house with exposed walls, exposed plumbing, slogans, bumper stickers and news clippings, etc on the wall. In many ways, it's very artsy. But despite that, the house is habitable. They call the house (K)notsquat.
Myself, due to internet connectivity issues, I am staying with one of the other Prometheus staffers that is within walking distance of the Prometheus headquarters and (K)notsquat. It's also a nice 3 story, 6-bedroom home, like most of the homes in this neighborhood. I really like this place.
I forgot to mention on Friday, I injured my right leg on the job. I was moving large boxes on a handtruck and forgot about a table and I hit it pretty hard. So I am right now nursing that injury and the cold weather is not helping that.
Since Friday morning, I had been up straight through Saturday afternoon. I was finally able to get a nap on Saturday afternoon and I was able to get a full night's sleep between Saturday night and this morning.
Today, I will be working with Prometheus to try to bring some alignment of the REC vision for LPFM with that of Prometheus and I am hoping to get Prometheus to take on some of the positions we have taken on LPFM that they have not really even taken on in the past.
When I get to DC, I am being told that one of the activists who will be there is a rollergirl from San Antonio. I am going to assume she's from Alamo City Rollergirls. This will be an interesting meeting. I did bring my camera. I just did not bring my plaid skirt .. lol.
I will be coming back Wednesday. With this injury and my exhaustion from travelling, I am definitely not going to be skating that night.
Until then, keep warm. I am trying to here. (*^u^*)
With derby loveMichi-chan=m
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