2011 Arizona State Rail Plan - Arizona Department of Transportation

Arizona State Rail Plan
Opportunities
In 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
announced grant programs to plan and improve rail
infrastructure, focusing on partnerships with state DOTs.
ADOT applied for and received a $1 million grant as
part of this program to initiate planning for a passenger
rail connection between Phoenix and Tucson. The
State Transportation Board authorized a $1 million
match of the federal grant. These funds will be used to
continue to build upon previous studies regarding ICR
development between Phoenix and Tucson through a
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Alternatives
Analysis (AA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
in support of new passenger rail service. Additionally,
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has earmarked
funding to fund the second phase of the AA/EIS study.
With funding for the initiation of planning ICR between
Phoenix and Tucson, the State has the opportunity
to begin implementing the passenger rail element
envisioned for the Sun Corridor, where more than 85
percent of the population of Arizona will reside in 2050.
Roadways alone will not accommodate the projected
travel demand in this concentrated corridor. Rail and
other transportation alternatives will be a necessary
component to reduce congestion and offer travelers
multiple options for intercity travel.
New Mexico’s Rail Runner Express train serves the
metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Ridership averages about 4,500 passengers per day,
helping to relieve congestion along I-25.
Phasing
The opportunity exists for the corridor to be constructed
in segments, with extensions constructed as ridership
warrants and funding becomes available. ICR could
begin with a starter connection between Phoenix and
Tucson, connecting the two largest metropolitan areas.
Future segments could include extension from Phoenix
to Prescott and/or Flagstaff, as well as from Tucson to
Nogales.
Planning for Sustainable Growth
Detached, single-family homes and master planned
housing communities have been the predominant
development type in the Sun Corridor, contributing to
the expanse of the metropolitan areas and making transit
less viable. This development pattern has reduced the
availability of affordable housing near employment
centers, impacted the natural environment, and created
a “drive until you qualify” phenomenon contributing
to a recent Arizona foreclosure crisis. Creating a
future development pattern that better integrates land
use, transportation, economic development, and the
natural environment is critical to sustainable and livable
communities.
Intercity Rail presents the opportunity for local
communities to plan future growth around a multimodal
transportation vision, maximizing employment uses
and more compact and affordable development near
station locations. Pinal County recently updated its
Comprehensive Plan, which orients development into
higher-density activity centers while maintaining open
space in environmentally sensitive areas. This plan
identified several high capacity transportation corridors
to connect these activity centers, which could include
intercity passenger rail service. The Pinal County
Comprehensive Plan has been nationally recognized
as an example of a local agency coordinating land use
planning with a multimodal vision for the Sun Corridor.
The Statewide Transportation Planning Framework
Program identified new greenfield roadways. This
provides the opportunity to think more holistically about
the future transportation system, incorporating Intercity
Rail as future possibilities in shared rights-of-way (Figure
10).
28 Arizona State Rail Plan
March 2011