Rail Life “Flickr Pic” of the week – Already having Light Rail Parking Concerns

There was an interesting article in todays paper titled, "What the Valley can expect from light rail." The article is getting a lot of comments on their site, some are pretty funny. The article actually brings up some interesting points in comparing the Arizona light rail system to the light rail system in Denver. Many of us feel the anticipated 26,000 riders per day for the Phoenix Light Rail system won't be hard to make. With the amount of employers, sporting venues, neighborhoods, cultural facilities, restaurants etc along the route and the proximity to the ASU Phoenix and Tempe campus, it should be easy.

One concern brought up in todays article was parking and the number of parking spaces (or lack of) at the light rail Park and Ride lots. The two park and ride stations at the ends of the lines are the largest with Montebello and 19th Avenue at 794 spaces and Sycamore and Main Street in Mesa at 802 spaces. I can see 19th/Montebello having a shortage early but Mesa seems a little bit out of the way for many commuters. I believe it was a good idea to make the lot at the Loop 101 Freeway and Apache Blvd the next largest at 693 spaces. This one at the 101 is going to be very convenient for a lot of people. I personally see the most concern at the Dorsey Lane and Apache Blvd park and ride lot. With just 190 spaces, this is the closest to ASU and is in one of the highest density residential areas of our entire state. With the cost of parking for ASU students, I believe many of them will take advantage of the free parking and use their free light rail pass. I went by and took a few shots of the Dorsey Park and ride station which is in the middle of some serious construction. I believe there will be two small lots available at Dorsey. You can see what I mean by zooming in on this light rail map. For a few more pics of this lot, check out the Rail Life Flickr page.

Remember, Rail Life has a Phoenix Light Rail Group on Flickr. Basically, we want to share some of our pictures from the community and allow people to add their pics (or videos), as well. These can be light rail related, but we also want pics of your favorite spot, restaurant, sports team, community, event etc.