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July 19, 2012

Perks of Being a Regular

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Supporting “Local” goes beyond Small Business Saturday We’ve all seen the commercials, “this is the power of us”, illustrating how great small business are and how AMEX customers joined into a massive 1 Million people who chose to shop somewhere other than a big-box retailer or Amazon.  Holy cow, imagine what could happen if we only spread the word!! But, I know that on this note I’m preaching to the choir here.  I’m sure each reader already has their own favorite local coffee shop (Lola on Roosevelt used to be mine),…

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Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Sure, the “signature pop-culture event of the southwest” is typically designed for fans, but it’s also a great time to show off that super power you’ve been diligently keeping under wraps.  While everyone else is gaming, watching sci-fi panels, and generally flying their geek flag at full mast, you’ve got bigger problems to handle.  Sure, we all try to go through our day-to-day just maintaining our secret identities, but as you know, with great power comes great responsibility. (Beware, continuing to read presumes that you do indeed possess some sort of…

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April 23, 2012

METRO, where’s my pay-as-you-go already?

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: A case for pay-as-you-go Light Rail: If I’m honest, the idea for this post started with me having a bit of a rant a few days ago, and realizing that while my recent inconveniences were not earth-shattering by any means, they certainly highlighted one of the areas where Metro Light Rail is lacking. The simple truth that I have to either purchase a physical pass for public transit every time I take it, or make a financial gamble and pre-pay for fixed-term passes that I’m not likely to utilize 100% seems…

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March 21, 2012

Take Metro Out to the Ball Game

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Spring is here, catch it while it lasts.  Seriously, if I was able to maintain my focus, I’d be outside right now, feverishly typing this post on my phone, just to enjoy the 8.42 days of really great spring weather we get. Actually, if I was really slick, I’d be writing this on my way to one of my favorite spring activities, Cactus League Baseball. (Confession, I am really slick. Hooray for productive train rides). Normally I am not a fan of event-based transportation, of the teeming masses that only take…

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January 18, 2012

A Letter to Light Rail Riders

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Dear Valued Rider, We realize our relationship has had its ups and downs this past two years, and since it’s the New Year, it feels like we should join in the spirit and shape some things up so that we can feel better about each other in 2012.  Therefore, we present our list of resolutions: Longer trains arriving more often. Yeah, it really sucks having to wait on the platform for so long just to get crammed into a one-car train. We admit we started this so that we could take…

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November 30, 2011

Light Rail Tourism in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass. Recently one of my favorite Canadians was in town on vacation, and asked me for a few “local” places to go. Aside from making jokes about how could someone from the Frozen North possibly survive our crushing October heat, I was happy to share my love for the neighborhoods for Phoenix.  When I started giving directions, they told me they were using the Light Rail to get around on their first visit to our city, and I couldn’t help but pick their brain about how the experience went from an out-of-towner’s…

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October 05, 2011

Landmark Shmandmark

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: In August I wrote about “what is Phoenix’s landmark building”, and my questioning what it was that people would think of a snapshot-worthy sites in our fair city. The response that you guys gave was fantastic and particularly thoughtful. From agreeing about the Security Building to lauding the Luhr’s tower and even trying to buy my friendship by complimenting my favorite topic, Metro Lightrail, I enjoyed reading all your comments so much, that I actually decided to do something about it. Before I get there, though, do me a favor.  Go…

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August 08, 2011

Phoenix Landmarks…?

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: This past 12 months I’ve been blessed with a reason to travel overseas and tour some fantastic cities.  Having seen a number of castles, cathedrals, bridges, parks and rail stations, I am most grateful for an expanded sense of how public spaces can both succeed and fail. That said, the first question friends & colleagues ask when I return is always “how was your trip? what was  (city)  like?”.  Inevitably, most people want to hear about the landmark places they expect you to go; “Oh, you were in London?  Did you…

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Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass. Last month I discussed the ideas behind meeting all your needs in a hyper-local environment, specifically with transit-oriented development areas in mind.  At the end, I challenged everyone to give it a whirl: “See if you can get everything you need, and some things you don’t really need, without ever getting in your car. I bet you’ll like what you find, and your local business-owners will love the support. “ Feeling a need to put my money where my mouth is, what follows is a case-study in doing just that within…

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June 06, 2011

Can We Live Local?

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by Ryan Glass. I first met Ryan at a Places, Spaces and Faces Community Dinner. I subsequently ran into Ryan’s insightful and hilarious blog Relevant Wit through some mutual urbanist friends. When I saw Ryan at Lola’s on Roosevelt a while ago, I knew I had to hit him up for a guest post! The Downtown Phoenix Public Market. Photo by Taz Loomans. CenPho resident since 2002, Ryan Glass is an amateur urbanist, podcaster and contributing writer. For his more random thoughts, follow @RyanGPHX. Not that long ago, I attended a speech given by noted urbanist…

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