Yesterday, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was in Phoenix touting the effectiveness of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), more commonly known as the "Stimulus" program. Perhaps the visit was a preemptive effort to get in front of the news that the City of Phoenix would not receive additional ARRA funding for the PHX Sky Train project that Mayor Phil Gordon has long been touting.
The PHX Sky Train is a people mover that, once completed in 2013 will connect all of the terminals at Sky Harbor Airport with the light rail and the parking lots. According to Scott Wong's Arizona Republic article, Phoenix will instead finance the project with "airline passenger fees, airport bonds and other revenue."
Perhaps adding insult to injury, Arizona "rival" Tucson was awarded $63 million yesterday for a transit project of its own. Mayor Gordon was quoted as saying, "Anyone who knows me knows I don't accept no for an answer." It will be interesting to see what Mayor Gordon is able to accomplish before he leaves office, either due to term limits or a potential bid for the US Congress.
I was shocked. If the airport train wasn't considered shovel ready I don't know what is.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the possibility of getting that type of mobility in Downtown? It would be a great use for the downtown area as well as become a tourist attraction for local and out of state visitors.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm surprised that we didn't get the funding while Tuscon did. I would be interesting to know why that happened. Do you know if the project is still on schedule or will it be delayed?
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