Filed under: Arizona, Phoenix, Phoenix Arizona, US - AZ (Phoenix) | Tags: Maricopa County, Valley Metro
Demand for all services by Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority increased to the highest levels ever recorded in June as gasoline surpassed $4 a gallon and Maricopa County recorded more high pollution advisories in a single month than it did during all of last year.
Ridership on commuter Express bus routes rose 40 percent year-over-year to top 9,000 boardings in June, while new registrants in Valley Metro’s online carpool partner matchlist grew 380 percent year-over-year. Currently, there are more than 7,100 commuters in the database who are looking to share the ride.
Valley Metro’s website-which allows visitors to map a bus trip, purchase online fare, and find a carpool or vanpool partner-also saw enormous spikes in demand. Page views of http://www.ValleyMetro.org increased 156 percent year-over-year in June to more than 1.38 million views.
Gas Prices Past the Tipping Point
Read more here:Valley Metro
Filed under: City of Tempe, City of Tempe News, Tempe, Tempe Arizona, US - AZ (Phoenix) | Tags: 4th of July, Fourth of July, July 4th, Let's Talk Tempe, Tempe Town Lake, US Airways, Valley Metro
Tempe prepares for Valley’s biggest July 4th bashTips for accessing and enjoying the best party in town
TEMPE, Ariz. -Tempe Beach Park will be ready next week for the Kiwanis Club of Tempe’s 56th annual celebration of our country’s birthday as US Airways presents the CBS 5 Tempe Town Lake July 4th Festival. The event features local bands, a children’s carnival and “splash zone” area, a food court and the SRP Fireworks Spectacular, a one-hour spectacle coordinated to patriotic and classical music.
Gates open at 4 p.m. and fireworks begin at 9 p.m. The event closes at
11 p.m.
Tickets
Advance tickets are on sale for $5 at: the Town Lake Operations Center (620 N. Mill Ave.); at the city’s Parks and Recreation Office on the second floor of the Tempe Public Library (3500 S. Rural Rd.); at Kiwanis Recreation Center (6111 S. All-America Way); and at the Escalante Community Center (2150 E. Orange St.). Tickets also are available for $6 at Safeway stores or at www.GetTix.net <http://www.gettix.net/> . At the gate, tickets are $8 or $15 for two. Children 12 and under are free.Produced by the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, the event benefits local charities. For event details, visit www.tempe4th.com <http://www.tempe4th.com/> . For traffic and bus details, visit www.tempe.gov/tim. Getting there and getting homeThe City of Tempe will make it easy for residents to get to the July 4th Tempe Town Lake Festival with FREE extended bus service. Residents are encouraged to park at one of the following park-and-ride locations and ride the bus for free to the festivities:
* Tempe Library Complex, located at the southwest corner of Rural
Road and Southern Avenue (Route 72)
* Tempe Sports Complex, located on Hardy Drive just north of
Warner Road (Route 62)
* Target, located on the northeast corner of Baseline Road and
McClintock Drive (Route 81)
* Arizona Mills Mall located, on Priest Drive north of Baseline
Road near entry 1 (Routes 56, 92)
Before 3 p.m., all Tempe bus routes will run according to Sunday schedules. After 3 p.m., the following bus routes will run every 15 minutes to downtown Tempe until 8 p.m. with return service until midnight. All routes serving downtown will drop off and pick up on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive in the Tempe Center parking lot.
* 56 – Priest
* 62 – Hardy
* 66 – Mill
* 72 – Rural
* 81 – McClintock
* 92 – 48th Street/Guadalupe
Several Tempe bus routes will be detoured from 5 a.m. July 4 to 1 a.m.
July 5. Visit www.valleymetro.org for bus detours, routes and scheduling. The Tempe Transit Store, 502 S. College Ave., will be closed July 4. For more information about the July 4th festival, visit www.tempe4th.com <http://www.tempe4th.com/> or call 480-350-5189. For street closure information, visit www.tempe.gov/streetclosures. ParkingFree ADA-accessible parking will be available at the US Airways parking lot on the northwest corner of Mill Ave. and 3rd St. Other lots are available at $10 per vehicle, including: ASU’s Lot 59 at Rio Salado Parkway and Rural Road; Rio Salado Parkway and Hardy; and the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel. Free bicycle parking is available on the east and west sides of Tempe Beach Park.
Do not park on the north side of Tempe Town Lake if you intend to come into the event at Tempe Beach Park, since the Mill Avenue bridges will not be open for vehicles or pedestrians.
What to bring
Sealed containers of water, portable chairs and blankets are okay to bring into the event. Food, coolers, pets, skateboards, skates and bicycles are not allowed. Permitted service animals are allowed.
Filed under: Arizona, Arizona Department of Transportation, City of Mesa, Mesa, US - AZ (Phoenix) | Tags: Bus, Transit, Valley Metro
Transit center groundbreaking setThe City of Mesa will officially break ground for the new Sycamore Transit Center, Saturday, January 27, at 9:30 AM. The transit center is located on the northwest corner of Main and Sycamore, just east of Dobson Road.
This facility will serve as Mesa’s transit portal to the high capacity, METRO light rail system. It will provide bus interface connections for several current and future routes including Mesa’s future Bus Rapid Transit Service.
The facility offers an automobile drop-off area, futuristic architecture and design complementing the end-of-the-line station, seven bus bays with shaded pedestrian seating, a double-unit water fountain, information kiosk, bicycle racks and lockers, METRO ticket vending machines, trees, landscaping, and three north/south pedestrian connections to the adjacent 812 space park-and-ride facility scheduled for construction in 2008.
“The design team of OTAK/Architekton developed a beautiful architectural facility which will provide for the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, automobiles, and buses,” Mesa Vice Mayor Claudia Walters said. “This is an exciting opportunity for the community and a continuance of the area’s revitalization.”
Several speakers including: Vice Mayor Walters, Mike Ladino, General Counsel for METRO, Les Presmyk, Board Co-Chair for Valley Metro and Dave Richins, representing the Mesa Grande neighborhood will make comments and be available for one-on-one interviews.
For additional information please contact Mesa Public Information Specialist Bob Huhn, at 480-644-4695. Saturday Bob can be reached at (602- 820)-9568.
Filed under: City of Mesa, Maricopa County, Maricopa County News, Mesa | Tags: Bus, Open House, Transit, Valley Metro
MESA MAIN STREET BRT STUDY OPEN HOUSES
Valley Metro, the region’s public transportation provider, is working to
implement the Mesa Main Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. This
high capacity transit project is included in the region’s program of
public transportation investments that will be funded through the
passage of Proposition 400 by Maricopa County voters in 2004. Valley
Metro is currently collaborating with the City of Mesa to conduct a
study of alignment options, vehicle options, and priority treatments to
implement the project. The Mesa Main Street BRT project is scheduled to
begin operations in late 2008 to coincide with the start of METRO Light
Rail Transit (LRT) service.
Two open houses are being held to inform residents and interested
parties about the project, and receive comment on project alignment,
station, and design options. Poster boards will be displayed along with
handouts and a Powerpoint slide presentation. Staff from Valley Metro,
Mesa, and the consultant team will be available to describe the project,
explain options, answer questions, and receive feedback. Snacks will be
provided.
The day, time, and location of the meetings are provided below.
Downtown/West Mesa
Thursday, September 28, 2006
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Room 170, Mesa City Plaza
20 East Main Street
(NE corner of Center Street & Main Street)
Mesa, AZ 85201
Served by Valley Metro Routes 45, 104, & Red Line
East Mesa
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Red Mountain Branch Library
635 North Power Road
Mesa, AZ 85205
Served by Valley Metro Route 30
BRT is a new, high quality transit service that operates on city streets
with enhancements to improve travel time and service attractiveness. The
Mesa Main Street BRT project is one of five arterial BRT corridors
identified in the Regional Transportation Plan that will be funded
through Proposition 400. The Mesa Main Street BRT will operate between
the planned light rail transit (LRT) terminal at Sycamore in Mesa and
Power Road. Alignment options are being considered in Downtown Mesa and
on Southern Avenue. A possible service extension to the Superstition
Springs Shopping Center will also be considered by the study.
The 11-mile Mesa Main Street BRT line will include new vehicles and
upgraded stations. It will also have improvements to increase operating
speed, which may include queue jumpers (lanes at intersections to bypass
backups) and traffic signal priority.
Phoenix Arizona 