Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting - 29

2010 Annual Meeting

METRO Builds Consensus in Downtown Mesa
BY WULF GROTE Director, Project Development Valley Metro Rail Inc. Phoenix, AZ and MIKE JAMES Director, Transit Services City of Mesa, AZ
participation by all members. It was rare to have but a handful of members absent from each meeting. We created true ownership in the process and project. What is even more indicative of the committee’s success is the unanimous accord reached on urban design concepts that contain recommendations for station locations and a downtown street configuration. This included full support to narrow the street through downtown Mesa from two lanes in each direction to only one. The committee also talked through what could have been highly divisive issues such as property impacts, on-street parking, bike lanes, and pedestrian traffic. Ultimately, the committee built consensus by taking time with the public process, being genuinely interested in incorporating local input, appreciating member expertise and perspective, and being an integral part of an open and transparent process. Committee members have developed a vested interest in seeing this project through and will be informally consulted for help with key decisions in the future. The Central Mesa light rail project is a 3.1-mile extension on Main Street from the current end-of-line at Sycamore to Mesa Drive. It will travel through the heart of downtown Mesa, connecting it with urban centers in Phoenix and Tempe. With the project’s entrance into project development, preliminary engineering has begun. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2012, with completion scheduled in 2016.

alley Metro Rail Inc. (dba METRO light rail) and its member cities are hard at work planning 37 additional miles of high-capacity transit extensions from the 20-mile light rail starter line that opened in December 2008. However, while much of the metropolitan Phoenix community has come around to seeing the value of light rail, not all residents agree, particularly those who could be impacted by future construction. The rail agency has taken a unique approach to channeling and using public input with the Central Mesa light rail extension that has begun to convert opponents into advocates. This process also has helped the project receive Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval to enter project development and a medium-high overall Small Starts project rating, placing it well above many other projects nationally. When entering the planning stage for the three-mile Central Mesa extension, METRO and the city of Mesa Mesa Vice Mayor Kyle Jones addresses the 41-member Central Mesa knew they needed Stakeholder Advisory Committee. community buy-in from the outset. The technical analysis revealed potential for a successful project, ripe for FTA funding, but that same sentiment was not shared by many stakeholders in the downtown Mesa community. METRO decided to approach the public input process differently than in the past, working from lessons learned on the light rail starter line as well as previous streetscape improvement projects in downtown Mesa. A diverse set of community members were tapped by the mayor of Mesa to take part in the Central Mesa Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Advisory committees are not a new tool: METRO has used them extensively during planning and construction to connect with special interest groups and contractors. What made this committee different was a focus on getting input from each and every one of the 41 committee members, comprising property owners, business representatives, and interested residents. Through active dialogue and respectful debate between members and staff, the committee began to gain knowledge and belief in the project. The committee’s appointment by the mayor and chairing by the vice mayor elevated its importance and increased

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September 27, 2010 | 29
Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting
