No Light Rail as Sky Harbor???
by Mike Ross Thursday, May. 25, 2006 at 1:45 PM

Why won't Sky Harbor Airport get light-rail??? It's pretty simple - Revenue!

If they ran light-rail into Sky Harbor Airport the City of Phoenix would lose millions of dollars in parking revenue.

That's why the Green Line did not run into LAX in Los Angeles, and why the San Diego Trolly didn't run into Lindberg Airport. It's about REVENUE, not public transportation!

If light-rail ran into these airports the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix would lose millions of dollars of cold hard cash in lost parking revenues. That's why all three of these cities will never let light-rail into their airports.



http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0525thurlets2510.html

Sky Harbor needs light-rail station

May. 25, 2006 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic is to be commended for finally publishing an article that tells the real story about the light-rail system being constructed for the Phoenix metro area ("Light-rail success sits with riders," Sunday).

For quite some time, supporters of light rail have promoted the system as doing its part in solving the problems of traffic congestion and, most of all, the "brown cloud."

It is obvious from the article that commuters will receive little benefit. In fact, they were never intended to by the planners. The impact of one-tenth of 1 percent of ridership by 2020 is a shocking figure.

What is amazing to me is that the system is near Sky Harbor International Airport but does not have a station on airport property. When traveling to other cities, such as Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, I find it very convenient to take light-rail systems directly from the airport terminals. I don't consider a proposed shuttle bus or people mover as an attractive alternative.

If you look at this system from the perspective of the vast majority of residents in this area, the word "boondoggle" comes to mind.

Ronald W. Jensen
Phoenix, Arizona

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