Posts Tagged ‘Light Rail’

March 21, 2011

Proposed Road Diet on Central Between Camelback and Bethany Home Road

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet On Saturday I attended the first Annual Bicycle Summit of Phoenix at the Burton Barr Library put on by the City of Phoenix. It was wonderful to hear about proposed bike infrastructure improvements, existing safety and traffic laws, and programs and events concerning cyclists. It was also a great opportunity for the biking community to get together and be heard. I commend the organizers – City of Phoenix bicycle coordinator Joseph Perez and traffic engineer Kerry Wilcoxon for making a concerted effort to listen to what the bikers of Phoenix need and want. Although the summit this Saturday was…

February 02, 2011

Valley Metro’s 25th Annual Rideshare Month

by: Suzanne Day

Tweet Today’s post is by Suzanne Day about the upcoming program for Rideshare Month put on by Valley Metro. Suzanne is a Business Service Representative of Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority in Phoenix, Arizona. Suzanne has worked in Transportation Demand Management since 1990. Prior to working for Valley Metro, she was the Executive Director of the Central Avenue Transportation Management Association in Phoenix. Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from Arizona State University. A lifelong Phoenix resident, Suzanne enjoys hiking, cooking, and a relaxing commute on the bus. She served on the Maricopa Association of…

January 25, 2011

How Far has Phoenix Transportation Come since 1974?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Well, not very far. We may, in fact, have taken a few steps backwards. While I was doing some research for another article I’m writing, I ran into a very telling story written by Pam Hait called “Transportation” in the August 1974 Phoenix Magazine. Below are two excerpts from it that I found fascinating: “Bicycle paths also made giant strides as Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix all initiated bike-only paths and lanes. Cities now request that developers build adequate room for bicycle paths into their subdivision plans. Bikers converged on Phoenix City Hall this year, and made the most of…

January 11, 2011

Maricopa County’s Green Government Collaboration and Transportation Initiatives

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Yesterday, I posted the first half of my interview with Jonce Walker, the Sustainability Manager at Maricopa County and the author of the latest Green Government Program. Today, read how the County collaborates with other municipalities and within its various departments, what specific transportation measures the County is taking to go green, and what other cities and counties can learn from Maricopa County’s success. Blooming Rock: What are some of the coordination efforts you’re undertaking with other agencies and municipalities to implement the Green Government program? For example, I noticed you have tree planting as one of your measures…

January 04, 2011

Phoenix, State of the Ride 2010: From Soleri to CVS, a Dialog

by: JohnRomeo Alpha

Tweet Today’s post is by John Romeo Alpha, a fellow bike enthusiast and a blogger. I absolutely love JRA’s blog One Speed:Go! John Romeo Alpha currently commutes by bicycle every day, and has been a Phoenix resident for more than 20 years. He is passionate about all types of bicycling, and is always looking for new and interesting ways to connect canal, path, road and mountain on two wheels. He chronicles his thoughts and explorations on his blog, One Speed: Go! On a sunny day between Christmas and New Years, JRA is meeting up with Tommy, a once-fit friend who…

December 29, 2010

Reverse Lanes Place Cars Above Community

by: Yuri Artibise

Tweet Today’s post is by the avid urbanist, community activist and my friend, Yuri Artibise. Yuri Artibise—aka the Incurable Urbanist—has spent the past four years creating community in the urban desert that is better known as Phoenix. Through his Yurbanism brand, Yuri explores the ‘Y’ of urbanism by sharing ways to make our cities more livable, community-oriented places one block at a time. Find out more at yuriartibise.com. On December 14th Phoenix City Council voted 5-1 (with 2 absences) to accept the report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Reverse Lanes. (A summary of the report is found at…

December 22, 2010

“Yes Virginia, there is community in Phoenix”

by: Jim McPherson

Tweet Today’s post is by Jim McPherson, a dedicated and revered community leader here in Phoenix… A few months ago at Hob Nobs Coffee House I chatted with Russ Haan of After Hours Creative about the “ups and downs,” “twists and turns,” and “progress and pitfalls” of getting projects off the ground in downtown Phoenix. In our conversation we rattled off a dozen or so, but later I got to thinking, “How many projects are we talking about?” Before I go any further, let me define “projects.” It’s those “fine grain” projects, initiatives, events, and activities organized by individuals and…

December 15, 2010

STUDIO 1to1

by: Evan Ward

Tweet Today’s post is by Evan Ward, a member of a new team of designers and architects called STUDIO 1to1. STUDIO 1to1 actually started as an architecture thesis studio at ASU and has gone on to do some remarkable work with Transit Oriented Development planning around the Light Rail. I was excited to meet Evan recently and asked him to write about the work of STUDIO 1to1. Evan Ward grew up in Holland, Michigan and has lived in Arizona since 2001. He recently earned his M.Arch from Arizona State University. Prior to grad school, he spent 5 years working for…

December 01, 2010

What’s the Best Location for Phoenix’s Next Dog Park?

by: Sean Sweat

Tweet Today’s post is by Sean Sweat who’s posted on Blooming Rock before making a case for a dog park in downtown at the former location of the Ramada Inn. After a disappointing result from a City of Phoenix public hearing approving a vast asphalt parking lot there instead, Sean has come up with an exciting new idea for a dog park in Downtown. Sean Sweat, aka @PhxDowntowner, is the Treasurer of St Croix Villas in the heart of downtown and an MIT-trained transportation professional. His professional focus is supply chain & logistics. His personal focus is pedestrianism, public transit, and…

November 30, 2010

Hedonistic Travel: The Pleasures of Carlessness

by: Sarah Davies

Tweet Today’s post is by Sarah Davies, who’s visiting Phoenix for about a year or so from the UK as a researcher at ASU. I first met Sarah at Critical Mass and we exchanged a few friendly words while trying to ride two abreast and to avoid the nearby speeding vehicles and falling in the gutter. During our short and understandably distracted conversation, I found out Sarah doesn’t have a car, she lives in Downtown and works at the ASU Main Campus. Intrigued, we followed up our brief riding encounter with a coffee at Lux a few weeks later. It…