Will a vote this month bring different light-rail results?
On Aug. 27, Phoenix residents will vote on whether to continue light rail in the nation’s fifth largest city.
It will be the fourth time in two decades that voters will weigh in on the controversial transportation system. Since 2000, Phoenix voters have approved spending for light rail each time it’s appeared on their ballots. Could this year be different? Proponents of the rail system are counting on voters to once again throw their support behind public transportation and keep light rail as part of the region’s transportation system.
Opponents, however, believe they can convince Phoenix residents that the rail program hasn’t been the colossal success voters were promised and stop light rail from expanding any further into the city.
Phoenix’s Transportation 2000
The first iteration of light rail, dreamed up in the 1980s, was an even grander and pricier plan called ValTrans.
The project would have connected the entire Valley with 100 miles of elevated tracks.
Voters across Maricopa County defeated the $8 billion proposal by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in 1989, sending transit proponents back to the drawing board.
In the ’90s, Phoenix voters twice rejected tax hikes to fund transit.
But in 2000, light rail’s direction changed course. Phoenix voters approved a 0.4% sales tax to fund rail, buses and other public transportation projects, which set the stage for the 20-mile, light rail starter line that opened in 2008.
Prop. 400
In 2004, Maricopa County voters extended a countywide half-cent transportation tax to support a regional transportation plan. About a third of those funds went toward light rail and other public transportation projects.
Although the majority of the Prop. 400 funds went to other transportation projects, light rail was the major sticking point of the election, said Eric Anderson, executive director of the Maricopa Association of Governments. MAG is in charge of regional transportation planning in the Valley.
It was a tough sell, because light-rail construction hadn’t even begun in 2004, he said.
Proponents had to ask voters to imagine the rail system — a transportation mode entirely different than anything that existed in the Valley at the time — and trust that it would bring positive change.
“A lot of jurisdictions were kind of waiting and seeing how it all worked,” Anderson said.
Shannon Scutari, a local transportation and sustainability expert who helped craft the current regional transportation plan, said some members of the business community and established City Hall players were not initially on board with rail.
“We had to really convince folks that it was important to include money for transit, specifically light rail,” Scutari said.
Prop. 400 ultimately passed with about 58% of the vote.
The proposition’s transit funds have been used with city dollars and federal grants to build rail projects in Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe.
Transportation 2050
The original tax Phoenix voters passed in 2000 was supposed to generate enough money to fund 24 miles of light rail by 2016, but the city only was able to fund 17 miles because sales tax revenue fell short of estimates.
So in 2015, Phoenix officials went back to the voters, asking them to extend and increase the 2000 transit tax to 0.7% to fund a $31.5 billion transportation plan.
About 35% of the funds are dedicated to light-rail expansions, while 51% goes to buses and the remaining 14% to street repairs.
The initiative passed with about 55% of voters, but only about 21% of the city’s registered voters cast a ballot.
What’s different about August?
On Aug. 27, Phoenix voters will weigh in on Proposition 105, which could spell the end of light rail’s expansion in the city.
If voters pass the proposition, Phoenix must cancel all light-rail extensions and divert the Transportation 2050 funds it would have used to other transportation needs like buses and street repairs.
With the exception of the 2015 election, the previous transit elections in Phoenix occurred when light rail was just a vision. Today, it’s been operational for more than 10 years and residents are familiar with its pros and cons.
“Rather than speculating on what the impacts might be, both positive and negative impacts, we have experience now,” Anderson said.
Both sides see this as a benefit to their cause. Supporters of light rail point to the $11 billion in private and public investment that has sprouted within a half mile of the light-rail line since 2008 and higherthan-expected ridership numbers.
Mayor Kate Gallego, who co-chaired the Transportation 2050 campaign in 2015, used her annual State of the City Address to advertise what she sees as light rail’s positive impact on the city.
“That’s why the Phoenix Chamber, ASU President Michael Crow, AARP, Greater Phoenix Leadership, the Arizona General Contractors and many more groups are all standing up to protect the future of light rail. Because it moves more than people — it moves our economy,” she said.
Opponents cite rising crime along 19th Avenue — the newest stretch of Phoenix light rail — and the business disruption caused by light-rail construction.
Additionally, this will be the first election tailored to only address light rail. All of the previous elections included other transportation modes
Susan Gudino, treasurer of the anti-light-rail campaign, said she believes light rail has been successful in past elections because it was tossed into giant transportation plans. When isolated, voters will reject rail, she said.
“Everyone is going to know what they’re voting for,” Gudino said. “It’s going to be a historical day. I do feel we are going to win.”
Congressman and former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton disagrees. He said he believes the people of Phoenix understand the importance of having multiple modes of transportation in a major city and will continue to support light rail.
“I think we’re going to see the same kind of results. I think the people of Phoenix will once again step up to the plate and support public transportation,” Stanton said.
Vice Mayor Jim Waring, who has long opposed light rail, said he knows there are hurdles to Prop. 105 passing — particularly with the expected low voter turnout.
He said he recognizes that voters approved light rail as recently as 2015, but he said he believes there’s more concern about streets and potholes than ever before.
Now that light rail is on the ballot, he’s used it as a mechanism to argue that getting rid of the transit system could free up money sooner for street repairs.
“We have a better chance than we had a year ago,” Waring said. “What’s the baseball saying? Anybody with a bat out there could get a hit.”
Will light rail ever be accepted?
Scutari and Anderson, who have been involved in transportation planning for decades, said they feel a sense of déjà vu.
Even if Prop. 105 is unsuccessful, will transit proponents just bide their time until the next attack on the system? Will light rail ever be widely accepted as a form of transportation system in the Valley? Both said they hope so.
“I would like to think that there’s a point in the future that people accept that in the transportation world we have a portfolio of different ways to get around and light rail is part of that portfolio,” Anderson said.
He said there are things that rail can do that other forms of transportation cannot and as the region continues to grow, it will need all modes to create a functional transportation system.
Scutari said she doesn’t pretend that light rail is a “panacea.” It may not work in every place, and there may be new transportation technologies in the future that can better serve certain communities.
But it does have a place in the overall network in the Valley, she said.
Scutari said she understands the concerns and complaints of some of the light-rail foes, but “can we use that energy to make the system better instead of trying to completely dismantle the system?”
During a public discussion in July, Valley Metro CEO Scott Smith said he appreciates the continued discussion about light rail — because it’s significant enough to merit it.
“This is the fourth time the citizens of Phoenix are voting. Why? Because it’s a big deal. It’s a big investment, it’s a big disruption, it has big impact. And therefore I think it warrants big discussion,” he said.