Whereas there is no doubt that transportation is vital to the success of a market economy, much still needs to be understood about ways in which an efficient transportation system can improve productivity of an economy. While the Arizona Department of Transportation announced last month it is moving ahead with a passenger rail study between Tucson and Phoenix, the proposed Interstate-11 with a proposed Tucson bypass was being discussed by Pima County policymakers.
All are important transportation and economic development issues for our region and not to be taken lightly. Yet it seems that Pima County and ADOT may not be on the same road map, or talking past each other.
The Interstate -11 corridor will be a critical trade and commerce corridor connecting Mexico and Latin America to the U.S. and Canada and ADOT continues to study the feasibility of a passenger rail line between Phoenix and Tucson and has now narrowed the list of alternatives down to three. ADOT states in a release that there’s a lot of support behind Interstate-11. However, the focus for I-11 has been for the past two years, and continues to be centered on creating a strong link between Phoenix and Las Vegas; the proposed highway is still in feasibility studies, and determining whether the road will run to Tucson still remains to be seen.
ADOT has announced however, that it is moving forward with the Green Alternative study, which would run a high speed passenger rail line along Interstate 10 between the two metropolitan areas of Tucson and Phoenix; the Orange Alternative, which would serve East Valley population centers and share part of its alignment with the planned North-South Freeway Corridor; and the Yellow Alternative, which would also serve East Valley communities and share right of way with Union Pacific Railroad north of Eloy. All three alternatives would run along I-10 south of Eloy. For planning purposes, there is also a Teal Alternative, not shown on our map, which is a combination of the Orange and Yellow Alternatives being evaluated as an additional option. Ultimately ADOT’s passenger rail line will be designed as a blended service: An express service would have few stops between Phoenix and Tucson and a local service would stop at several communities along the way.
ADOT has been working closely with the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and local governments and planning organizations in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties to determine which routes would move forward for further study. The decision to pursue these three alternatives came not only from technical evaluations, but was also largely based on public input. During the last two years of the study, nearly 7,000 people across Arizona completed surveys to weigh in with their ideas of which routes best served communities.
“The support for a passenger rail system that connects our state’s two largest metropolitan areas has been tremendous,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “It’s important to plan for multimodal travel options as we look ahead to the future of Arizona’s transportation infrastructure and as our state’s population continues to grow. A passenger rail line will not only connect communities, but also economies. It’s not only a plan, it’s an investment in Arizona’s future.”
There is currently no construction schedule and no funding identified for a project to build a rail system between Phoenix and Tucson. It will be up to the public and policymakers to decide if the project is feasible and how to generate the funding to pay for the project. Such a project would run from $5 to $10 billion, ADOT has estimated.
Transportation has a broader role in shaping development and the environment. Policy concerns in the next millennium will increasingly focus on the effects of transportation on where people live and on where businesses locate, on the effects that these location decisions have on land use patterns, congestion of urban transportation systems, use of natural resources, air and water quality, and the overall quality of life.
Issues of urban sprawl, farmland preservation, and air and water quality have already pushed their way to the forefront of policy debates at both the national and local levels. To make prudent decisions, policy makers must be equipped with the best information and analysis possible about the interactions among these various factors.
Members of Congress from Nevada and Arizona upon returning to Washington, D.C. in the next few weeks will be meeting to discuss federal funding for Interstate-11. They plan to convene Sept. 18 in Washington with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to chat about ways to collaboratively promote the project. Last year, Congress approved an official designation for Interstate-11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix, and it is time now to look at the next steps.
The questions asked by policymakers are two sided. Not only do they want to know the effect of transportation on additional economic development, they also want to know the transportation needs of future growth. Transportation analysts must tackle more complex questions than they did in the past.
What mode of transportation is most cost-effective in meeting a region’s transportation needs? How should a state department of transportation prioritize its highway dollars to maximize economic growth? What is the trade-off between additional growth in an urban area and the cost of expanding transportation systems to accommodate greater growth? What effect does the expansion of transportation systems have on the need to invest in other types of infrastructure?
As the nation’s transportation system has matured and competition for government funds has intensified, the issue is not simply where to build another segment of highway or which airport needs to be expanded. The questions have become much more complex and the public more demanding for answers.
/p>