Phoenix Archives - Transportation For America

Voters love Phoenix light rail. Does USDOT?

On Tuesday, voters in Phoenix resoundingly voted to reaffirm their support for the city’s transit expansion plans. But while the city can now move beyond this threat to its transit ambitions, the region joins scores of others still waiting on the Trump administration for federal transit funding.

On Tuesday, Phoenix, AZ residents threw their support behind transit, quashing an effort to end all future investment in light rail with 63 percent of votes in favor of continuing the city’s expansion plans. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this vote and it marks the fourth time that Phoenix voters have gone to the ballot box and registered their overwhelming support for transit since 2000. Four years ago voters approved a 0.3 percent sales tax increase to move numerous transit projects forward, and last Tuesday, in even greater numbers, Phoenix voters reaffirmed that commitment.

But will USDOT follow through and match that commitment?

At least three light rail projects in the city can continue to move forward now that the results are in and the south/central extension and downtown hub is ready to begin construction as soon as October—but only if the federal funding comes through. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has yet to sign a grant agreement and award the money to Valley Transit.

What USDOT has done is “allocate” the first portion of a $345 million grant for this project back in July, but as we’ve explained previously, USDOT “allocating” funds is simply moving around numbers on a spreadsheet. For Phoenix to actually receive their funding, USDOT must sign a final grant agreement, something they’ve been notoriously unwilling to do.

First the Koch brothers, now USDOT

The campaign against light rail in Phoenix was run by local activists but supported and funded by the conservative Koch brothers who have a long history of trying to derail transit investments around the country.

With the referendum out of the way and light rail back on track, the federal government could now be the city’s biggest obstacle to completing the south/central extension on time. Under the Trump administration, USDOT has worked diligently and effectively to hamstring federal funding for transit.

Every time USDOT allocates funding to a project and puts out a press release, local media runs glowing stories about those local projects being “approved” or “advanced,” while often failing to note that no money is actually awarded and projects still aren’t cleared to start construction. There are currently 10 projects that have received funding allocations from USDOT but still have not yet received a grant agreement. Two of those projects were “allocated” money nine months ago. Phoenix received its allocation more recently, just days before a U.S. House oversight hearing into USDOT’s (mis)management of the transit grant program in July.

During the hearing, the acting administrator at the Federal Transit Administration within USDOT, K. Jane Williams, said, “in our administration, when we make an allocation, it is our signal that we will sign a grant agreement.”

The projects that have been waiting nine months might disagree with that statement. Though Phoenix is rightfully taking a well-deserved victory lap after a major win at the ballot box, it remains to be seen how long Phoenix will have to wait for it’s funding.

See Stuck in the Station for more information about federal funding delays for transit projects.

Phoenix voters could take extreme action to kill rail transit

Later this month, Phoenix voters will decide whether to ban all future rail transit investment, putting an abrupt end to light rail expansions and dealing a major blow to the city’s and region’s efforts to create a sense of place, attract talent, and grow the economy.

Proposition 105 on Phoenix’s August 27 ballot, if passed, will prohibit the city from spending money on development, construction, expansion, or improvement of light rail transit or other fixed rail transit. Local light rail funding would be diverted to other (auto-centric) transportation projects.

In the near-term the measure’s passage would immediately halt two light rail projects that the region plans to start constructing in the coming year, not to mention the impacts on long-term plans approved by voters in 2015.

The two near-term projects on the chopping block, the South Central extension and the Phase II Northwest extension, would connect major employment and recreation destinations to the region’s light rail system while connecting more residents to high-quality transit. Both projects are scheduled to be completed in 2023.

A radical vision

As with other anti-transit election efforts around the country, this one has financial and logistical backing from the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity. But unlike previous Koch-backed attempts to disrupt local transit funding, Prop 105 takes the fight against transit to new extremes. If approved, the measure would not only cancel all current plans to expand light rail (which voters have repeatedly approved at the ballot box on three separate occasions), but it would also prohibit any future efforts to expand or improve the network.

City leaders are clearly concerned about the potential impacts of the measure. The mayor and all but one city councilors have staked out positions opposing Prop 105. The Greater Phoenix Chamber and many other politically active organizations are also working against the measure.

“The Greater Phoenix Chamber has been a long-time supporter of investing in multimodal regional transit plans that move our city forward by connecting people to their community and to work opportunities,” said Todd Sanders, president of the chamber in a published statement. “The passage of Prop 105 would hinder our city’s progress and our region’s attractiveness as a thriving, modern place to work, live, and play.”

Opposition from business leaders is understandable and hardly surprising. As Phoenix diversifies its economy in knowledge sectors like financial and professional services, public transit is a critical tool to create walkable, vibrant neighborhoods and attract and retain a talented workforce. That’s why cities like Indianapolis, Reno, El Paso, and Albuquerque are investing heavily in new, high-capacity transit systems. It’s a sharp contrast to the future that Prop 105 would create for Phoenix.

Expansion of the light rail system also delivers a more convenient and affordable transportation option for residents who don’t have a car, whether by choice or necessity. It gives low-income residents, people with disabilities, older Americans who can no longer drive, children who can’t yet drive, and everyone else better transportation options.

In addition, investment in rail transit is important to Phoenix’s efforts to change its sprawling land use. Sprawl has big fiscal implications, particularly for this desert metropolis. In order to conserve water and balance the city’s maintenance and infrastructure obligations, city and regional plans have focused on shifting more development toward mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods. Rail transit is a key tool to facilitate that while improving quality of life.

If Phoenix does ban light rail expansion, the region will lose out on billions in federal transit funding. The Federal Transit Administration has already announced its intention to fund the South Central extension, but other cities are waiting in the queue should Phoenix abandon its own transit projects.

Whether Phoenicians are aware of it or not, they are in a race to remain an economically competitive city. By the end of this month, we’ll find out if they’re still on the racecourse.

Stories You May Have Missed – Week of January 5th

As a valued member, Transportation for America is dedicated to providing you pertinent information. This includes news articles to inform your work. Check out a list of stories you may have missed last week.

President Trump and his administration are still divided over the merits of private-public partnerships (P3’s) after their meeting on Friday with President Trump expressing skepticism about P3’s. (Washington Post/The Press Herald)
A key Democratic Senator says Democrats can work with President Trump on infrastructure. (The Hill)
“A group of more than 150 national trade organizations last week urged Congress to advance an infrastructure investment package.” (Progressive Railroading)
Congress is expected to consider a Trump infrastructure plan sometime this spring if a plan is actually released. (Fox News)
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York is expected to endorse congestion pricing in parts of Manhattan. (Curbed NY)
“In Phoenix, a Light Rail Station Designed For, and By, People With Disabilities.” (Streetsblog)

Phoenix voters approve a plan to raise money for transportation; vastly expand the city’s light rail and bus networks

On Tuesday night, voters in Phoenix, AZ, approved a slight increase in the sales tax to help fund a 35-year, $31.5 billion package to greatly improve and expand Phoenix’s light rail and bus systems, as well as other transportation improvements. The vote is further evidence that voters are willing to tax themselves for transportation — especially when they know what they’re getting.

* Final results won’t be in for a few days but at a 55-45 margin in reported results so far, advocates are claiming victory. -Ed.

The measure on yesterday’s ballot, Proposition 104, will raise $17.3 billion by nearly doubling the current 0.4 percent sales tax that’s currently devoted to transportation, increasing it by 0.3 percent on purchases in the city and devoting those extra dollars to transportation.

The city will use the bulk of the new revenue, plus other money from grants and transit fares, to improve and expand bus service and expand the city’s new light rail system. The plan also includes money for improving streets, sidewalks and bike lanes. The anticipated funding breaks down like this:

55% ($17.5 billion) will go to improve bus service, including $2.9 billion to increase frequency of current service and and $1.9 billion for new bus service.
28% ($8.9 billion) to expanding light rail or high-capacity transit—allowing for 42 new miles of light rail, tripling the current system length.
7% ($2.2 billion) will go toward existing light rail service
7% ($2.4 billion) for city streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes, which includes a plan to add over 1,000 miles of new bike lanes.

Expanding the city’s transit system (and new light rail service) was a core part of incumbent Mayor Greg Stanton’s campaign platform — who also won re-election yesterday. Mayor Stanton has repeatedly stated his belief that a robust transit system was essential for Phoenix’s long-term economic prospects.

“(It will be) getting people to educational opportunities, getting them to jobs, creating economic development opportunities. Bar none, it’s going to be awesome,” Stanton told KTAR news this week.

MovePHX , a local transportation advocacy group that also ran the campaign for Proposition 104, presented a compelling vision to the voters that transit is essential for moving citizens around more effectively and efficiently and for helping the region cope with expected population growth. With a specific plan in place for how and where to invest the money, the voters agreed that a more robust transit system is needed for the city to grow to its full potential.

Phoenix’s light rail system, which began running December 27, 2008, has had over 14.2 million riders so far in [fiscal year] 2015, and the service has been successful in attracting companies to the city that want to be close to reliable transit service to better serve their workers. Companies – like State Farm insurance – have moved to downtown Phoenix in search of a good spot near Phoenix’s light rail system to attract younger workers that like having a convenient transit options.

Votes like Phoenix’s are further evidence that city and state residents are willing to pay for transportation-related projects when they know what they’re getting. Ballot measures for transportation pass about 70 percent of the time, and success (or failure) often correlates with how specific (or vague) the proposal is.

Voters in Seattle and Utah will be going to the ballots over the next few years to vote on similar transportation plans. Seattle-area voters will decide in 2016 whether or not to approve a $15 billion package that will allow the region’s Sound Transit agency to expand light rail there. In Utah, voters (in 12 counties so far) will be deciding this November whether to increase countywide sales taxes to raise new money that can be invested in almost any local need, whether roads, transit, or safer, complete streets.

More and more cities (and states) are seizing the opportunity to raise new money to invest in their ambitious transportation plans crafted to help them stay competitive in the future. Former NYC DOT head Janette Sadik-Khan had a succinct takeaway about the Phoenix vote on Twitter this morning:

PHX passes transit tax. More proof there’s no red/blue divide-just cities that move forward while others fall behind http://t.co/xAPrZcLuRT

— Janette Sadik-Khan (@JSadikKhan) August 26, 2015

Improving Health and Opportunities: Programs Designed to Save Lives

Community health and transportation are inextricably linked. Residents in vulnerable communities face a number of threats posed by poor street design, CO2 emissions, and inadequate pedestrian infrastructure. Investments in curbing threats posed to low income communities in particular are a matter of life and death for residents that call these communities home. In Arizona and Washington State, two new transportation programs intended to improve community health are seeing positive results for the most vulnerable populations.

Air quality and pollution in Phoenix, AZ and surrounding Maricopa County persisted as major threats to the community for well over two decades. Under the federal Clean Air Act, the region was dubbed a “non-attainment area” in 1978 and remained noncompliant with pollution. High rates of single-occupancy vehicle driving commutes have contributed to increases in pollution.

Flickr photo by Devin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingdafy/321019324/

The region’s transit agency, Valley Metro, uses their robust trip reduction program to reduce the rate of single-occupancy vehicles commuting to and from work. This was accomplished by actively engaging employers in the region. Their work was bolstered by a state statute requiring employers to make a good-faith effort to reduce solo driving trips by participating in the regional effort. Click here to learn more about the comprehensive program and how Valley metro is reducing trips: http://bit.ly/1WcYgAB.

Vulnerable populations disproportionately suffer negative health and safety affects from poorly planned transportation systems. High numbers of pedestrian fatalities is one of those harsh consequences. Communities of color and senior citizens in particular make up a significant portion of these avoidable traffic deaths. In the year 2000, Washington State became the first state in the nation to adopt a policy aimed at eliminating deaths on its roadways, a movement most known as Vision Zero. Since then, the state has made remarkable progress, dropping to the 4^th lowest fatality rate in the country.

Similarly, Washington’s Target Zero blueprint relies on four tenants: educating, enforcement, engineering, and emergency medical services. Washington State finds its continued partnership with the governor’s administration, federal, state and local agencies, local organizations, and interested stakeholders remains vital to achieving the goal of zero traffic deaths and fatalities by 2030. Learn more about how your region and community can implement a vision zero plan here: http://bit.ly/1DDcLYy.

Check out additional regional case studies in our series on Improving Health and Opportunities . Interested in more transportation equity news and trends? Contact Program Manager, Alicia Orosco, for more information at Alicia.Orosco@t4america.org.

State Farm is moving to concentrate thousands of employees in locations near transit

State Farm, one of the country’s largest insurance companies, is betting big on transit in three cities by building or expanding regional hubs on sites with good access to public transportation, reflecting a clear strategy to attract and retain talent who increasingly want to live and work in locations connected by transit.

A State Farm Insurance executive told a crowd in Tempe, AZ, that the company’s decision to build a huge new hub there was directly tied to the nearby availability of light rail and other transportation options that are attractive to recruiting talent.

“We’re designing these workplaces to be the future of State Farm,” chief operating officer Michael Tipsord said at an Arizona State University event. “We’re creating a live-work-play environment that will give employees easy access to their work from the neighboring communities.”

The new hub in Tempe will give State Farm enough space to expand their Phoenix-area workforce from 4,500 to more than 8,000, and will be a ten-minute walk from a Valley Light Rail stop right by Sun Devil stadium at the edge of the Arizona State University campus.

tempe state farm google map location

In Atlanta, State Farm is at the center of an enormous 2.2-million-square-foot development at Perimeter Center, already one of the biggest job hubs in the entire metro region, located immediately adjacent to a MARTA heavy rail station. State Farm’s plan to lease more than 500,000 square feet in a larger development has been making waves in economic development circles in Atlanta. They’re planning to hire another 3,000 employees to augment the 5,000 already in metro Atlanta, bringing new jobs to this region as well.

It’s likely to be part of consolidating workers presently at other sites in far-flung Atlanta suburbs that State Farm has already sold. In a region with notoriously bad traffic and jobs scattered all over the metro area, it’s hard to overstate the significance for Atlanta.

Atlanta State Farm Master plan state farm atlanta hq rendering

North of Dallas in Richardson, TX, State Farm is building a new hub from scratch on the main north-south light rail line that will anchor an enormous new mixed-use development. This site, with room to expand further, is so close to the light rail stop that the executives could probably hit golf balls off the roof of the new buildings and hit the tracks. And at over 2 million square feet of office space, the Dallas Business Journal called it “the largest lease in North Texas history.”

dallas state farm google map location

State Farm is just one of many companies coming to the realization that a key part of recruiting and retaining talented workers is having convenient access to public transportation and being better integrated into nearby communities rather than isolated in a 1970’s style office park.

Though plenty of companies are still located in those office parks and will continue to be, other notable employers are looking to move to the kinds of locations more in demand by their workforce.

Just last week, Marriott hotels, a major employer in the Washington, DC, region, announced they’ll be looking for a new headquarters in the area when the lease expires on their existing suburban campus. And one of the most important things they’ll be looking for in a new HQ as they try to keep up in the race for attracting talent?

“I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro and that limits the options. I think as with many other things our younger folks are more inclined to be Metro-accessible and more urban,” chief executive Arne M. Sorenson told the Washington Post.

Expect more news like this in the coming months and years as more companies realize that locating in vibrant, walkable areas with good transit options are not only good for business, it’s critical for the companies trying to stay competitive.