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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Phoenix’s METRO Light Rail Takes Flight

by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. on June 17, 2009

Time: 3:20 Plays: 3,965 Embed:

Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future plans include an extension within three years, with several new corridors being studied.

The Valley Metro vehicles are handsome and comfortable, and thus far ridership has far exceeded initial projections -- with as many as 40,000 riders per day, compared to the expected 25,000. Each station features amenities and art installations. In addition, with many folks using the light rail as an intermodal step in their commutes, bicycles are welcome aboard.

2 Comments

Last comment by Michael Ragsdale Leave a comment »
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    Frank d

    The film on the Phoenix Metro looks great. Hopefully people will look at the interview with Enrique Penalosa and see that cities have opportunities to build transportation systems that benefit everyone--especially children--who often can't go out into their communities because of traffic problems.

    June 21, 2009 at 6:28 am Link # 1
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    Michael Ragsdale

    This video is exactly what I was looking to show to light rail haters in Virginia about the benefits that LRT can bring to a city

    (hey, I notice that when embedding the video in my blog, it's not showing up for some reason)

    June 21, 2009 at 11:42 am Link # 2