From the Scottsdale Republic’s “Opinions” section today:
View from train is better
I am one of the fortunate people who take the light rail to work every day.
This involves waiting a few minutes for a very punctual train on an attractive platform — each station has an art component, by the way. I then have a half-hour ride on a clean, air-conditioned train, and finally a short walk to my office. But I guess some people prefer the view from a traffic-clogged freeway.
— Barbara A. Ballering, Scottsdale
Trains take taxpayers for ride
A June 19 My Turn gives a glowing report of light rail, based on its author’s personal research. His “research” missed some key facts: 95 percent of Scottsdale residents will never ride light rail; 95 percent of Maricopa County residents don’t use the existing light rail system now, and they never will.
Scottsdale residents’ taxes will be used to subsidize light rail. For every $2.50 ticket, we taxpayers will cough up another $13 to cover the full cost of a ride on light rail. We taxpayers already pay the same subsidies for the Phoenix light-rail system. This is known as taking the taxpayers for a ride on light rail.
The My Turn states light rail “will offer opportunity to some.” Based on the Phoenix track record, “some” includes redevelopers, Realtors, speculators, foreign manufacturers and assorted hangers-on. The author of the My Turn wants you, the taxpayer, to help subsidize the redevelopment of downtown Scottsdale. This is the only true reason for running light rail through downtown areas.
— David J. Kolander, Scottsdale
Preserve decisions up to voters
I am amazed that Mayor Jim Lane and three council members voted to allow motorized vehicle traffic in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The preserve was encouraged and solely funded through voluntary tax increases. We, the citizens of Scottsdale, invested our money into the preserve. There is absolutely no way four people should override the will of the people. It is outrageously egotistical and clueless as to following the wishes of our investment. The only way for the council to move ahead with a trial period, or otherwise, for motorized vehicles is to place the issue on the ballot. Only then can the right decision can be made — by the people who paid for this investment.
— Richard Alt, Scottsdale
Jeeps OK — with stipulations
I support Jeep tours in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve so long as the operators adhere to good judgment and common sense. It can be done in our preserve exactly as rafting is done in the Grand Canyon. Years ago, I did raft the Canyon, but only after a very detailed orientation by those raft operators as to what was expected of us to maintain the integrity of the place.
“What you take in, you also take out.
Nothing is to be left behind,” the guides said. The same can and should be done by Jeep operators. The depiction in a recent Scottsdale Republic editorial of the Jeep operators as “leather-skinned roughnecks with 10-gallon hats and Yosemite Sam mustaches” is a bit much. They’re not “roughnecks.” They are thoughtful individuals engaged in an essential part of the Scottsdale tourism industry.
— Gary H. Boyd, Scottsdale
A call to protest City Hall
Reading about all the new apartment developments here in Scottsdale makes my blood run cold. The Scottsdale Shadows complex is only six stories and rather ugly. Does anyone truly believe three 14-story units on 4 acres of land will add beauty to our town?
What kind of traffic will 40,000 new apartments cause us? Are the council members trying to ram light rail down our throats? We citizens should be demonstrating at City Hall.
— Catherine A. Kury, Scottsdale
1 Comment
…each station has an art component, by the way.
When should I stop laughing? I wonder how Ms. Ballering likes riding with the bums (er…excuse me; “homeless persons”) who are known to ride the rails all day on a free pass they are supposed to use to interview for work. They love the rail in the summer because of the heat.