Recent News Articles

• Buses and Beyond: 10 Cities with Great Transit

• Employer-subsidized passes a problem for Valley light rail

• Valley Steps Up Ozone Fight

• Bus ridership soars, but high costs limit expansion plans

• Big, Brown and Bad All Over

• New federal smog standards raise challenge for Valley

• Push for public transit spreads across Arizona

• Web site launched to help boost sales for businesses along light rail route

• Phoenix-area bus riders facing end of free transfers

• Cities plan bus-line links to light rail

• Light-rail test a smooth ride

• Maricopa County Strives to Bring Back Blue!

• Valley faces deadline to clean bad air

• Light-rail chief keeps project rolling along

• First light-rail train to arrive in Valley next week

• Light rail may come early to West Valley

• 1st light rail car leaves Japan for N.J. testing

• Scientists: Ozone Hole Size Sets Record

• Public transit woos Valley's commuters

• Cleaner air on the way? Don't hold your breath

• In Phoenix, Even Cactuses Wilt in Clutches of Record Drought

• Valley likely to get winter of bad air

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Buses and Beyond: 10 Cities with Great Transit

From new light rails to buses with shuttles to the suburbs, these are the best U.S. public transit systems you never knew existed

Grist.org

 

Charlotte, pictured here, may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think public transit but it is leading the way in mass transit for the region.

When it comes to public transit in the U.S., there are certain predictable all-stars: the Metro in Washington, D.C., is convenient, efficient and clean. The "L" in Chicago and BART in the San Francisco Bay area are legendary. And everyone knows it's easier to navigate New York City without a car than with one.

But what about the rest of the country? As cities big and small rethink how their residents get around, new systems are taking shape -- and as gas prices and paychecks fluctuate, riders are responding in droves. While the current economic crunch is forcing many cities to hike fares or cut back on service, innovations continue, and the tracks are laid for a bright future. Here are a few surprising places where public transit is gaining speed:

Phoenix -- pop. 1.5 million

Phoenix's light rail opened earlier this year.

The desert-gobbling Arizona capital opened its first light-rail line in January with much fanfare and a few days of free rides. The 20-mile line is a modest start, but it's been beating early expectations and proving that even a poster child for sprawl can change its ways. Future plans would further connect the city, America's fifth largest. One less-than-sunny idea: The county sheriff's "Con Rail" plan to transport inmates on city rails.

Richmond, Va. -- pop. 202,002
The capital of the South is served by a century-old nonprofit that runs bike rack-equipped buses, vans and a carpooling and ride-matching services. Honored last year by the American Public Transportation Association for its deep commitment to the community, the Greater Richmond Transit Company has taken an active role in educating residents about the joys of carless living, with initiatives including a Lunch Time Express shuttle that makes downtown stops and even a transit TV show. A plan known as Mission 2015 envisions rapid transit and a downtown transfer center -- big plans for a system dubbed by CEO John Lewis as "the little engine that could."

Los Angeles -- pop. 3.8 million
The city known for smog, sprawl and freeways has been working for two decades to reinvent itself as a transit friendly place, spending $11 billion on a comprehensive rail network and creating a Metro Rapid bus line that uses low floors, traffic signal priority and limited stops to minimize travel times. The work is paying off: despite its bad rap for public transit, L.A.'s ridership ranks among the top in the nation. "We want to rethink what the city looks like," said Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa (D) "to focus on a new urbanism that makes transit-oriented development and mixed-use development the future of L.A."
 

Orlando, Fla. -- pop. 227,907
In a city perennially clogged with tourists, downtown traffic was a downer. So Orlando officials created a free bus rapid transit system known as LYMMO in the late 1990s. Today, they credit the system with inspiring the development of several nearby office and residential buildings and improving walkability. The city is now looking at expanding beyond its current corridors, which total about twelve miles, and replacing its "clean-diesel" buses with hybrids. In a classically American catch, the bus remains free to riders because it is subsidized by income from -- wait for it -- parking garages.

http://cityguides.msn.com/articles/cityarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=19621893

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Employer-subsidized passes a problem for Valley light rail

When riders don't scan cards, Metro can't recoup fares

by Sean Holstege - May. 26, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Valley's light-rail system is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because passengers with transit passes from their employers end up getting free rides.

Unchecked, the losses will create pressure to raise fares or cut back on service.

The problem has less to do with Metro's honor system, which allows riders to board without passing through turnstiles, than with the program that allows Valley employers to provide transit-pass cards to their employees.

Many Valley employers subsidize the cards for their employees at varying rates. They pay Metro for them, not at a flat rate but based on how many times the employees ride the train or bus.

Because many riders are failing to tap their cards against orange electronic readers at each station when they board, the transit agency is being shorted. Without a ride being recorded, it can't bill the rider's employer for the fare.

Metro uses electronic equipment that counts the number of riders aboard a train and inspectors who check tickets at random. By comparing results and the number of fares it collects, it can estimate how many subsidized-pass riders are getting free rides.

In February, for example, Metro gave away 174,000 rides, or 19 percent of total rides, because of subsidized-pass problems, agency records show. That share declined to 15 percent in March and 10 percent in April.

The result for all three months was a loss of at least $328,000. The shortfall ultimately affects the cities that subsidize the trains: Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.

Last week, Metro's governing board learned the agency is collecting an average of 60 cents per ride, much less than the 84 cents a ride projected earlier by a Metro consultant.

Metro's finance team proposed a $34 million operating budget next year that assumes fares will cover 25 percent of the cost, the required minimum. In March, Metro approved a sharp fare increase, which kicks in July 1, in order to bring that share up to 29 percent.

The governing board cited increasing costs for the hike. Now, because of the Platinum Pass issue, the 29 percent share likely won't be reached.

"I'm troubled by the change at this time," said Tempe Public Works Manager Glenn Kephart, who represented the city at last week's meeting. "We based our city budget on the 29 percent rate, and now, just five months into operations, it's wrong."

Cities may have to cut transit service as a result, Kephart said.

Valley's pass system unusual

Many U.S. metropolitan areas encourage employers to promote transit use to help reduce freeway congestion and air pollution. But the transit-pass program in the Phoenix area is unusual.

In other cities, employers offer discounted monthly transit passes to their workers, who pay fares upfront for unlimited use or as they go. Payments typically go straight to the transit agencies.

Here, employees with Platinum Passes have their fares deducted from their paychecks, up to $45 a month for local bus and rail rides and $65 for Express and Rapid bus. But actual payment to the system doesn't occur until the Phoenix Public Transit Department sends a monthly bill to employers.

The bill is based on the total number of times employees tap their cards on the orange readers. Depending on the number of rides taken, employers may owe less than the total cost of the pass. In that case, they keep the difference.

Phoenix Public Transit collects the payments, calculates how many rides began in each city and distributes the revenue to each city's transit agency or to Metro based on the average fare.

Twenty-five to 30 percent of Metro riders carry Platinum Passes, so missed taps can add up to a lot of unpaid fares.

Metro also loses fares to scofflaws who simply don't pay for a ticket and don't get caught and because of broken ticket machines. But about 40 percent of lost fares for rail transit are due to Platinum Pass holders who don't tap their cards, Metro chief Rick Simonetta said.

They often don't know they must tap in or are in too much of a hurry to do so.

"I really think it is time for us in the transit business to call into question whether (Platinum Pass) is what we should be using," Simonetta said.

Metro is trying to address the problem with various approaches.

Education, enforcement, repairs

One is education: The agency recently launched a campaign to remind passengers to use the Platinum Pass and how to do so. New signs went up inside trains advising people to "touch, hold and go."

A pass is valid and a fare is paid only when the machine chimes, a second green light flashes and the screen displays a "thank you" message.

Metro also placed signs and orange-vested volunteers on station platforms to explain the system.

A second prong is enforcement: Metro has stepped up inspections on trains, which appears to be working. The percentage of riders inspected doubled from January to April, to 16 percent, and the number of citations rose from 13 to 148. Cardholders who don't tap the readers upon boarding face fines of up to $500.

The number of free rides involving the Platinum Pass system fell from 174,000 in February to 107,000 in April.

The final approach is working with vendor Scheidt & Bachmann to fix technical glitches. Simonetta said most machines have been fixed and are working well. In June, he said, data will indicate whether the strategy to rein in free rides by Platinum Pass holders is working.

"We're going to continue to focus on this," Simonetta said.

Taken from: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/05/26/20090526lostfares0526.html

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Bus ridership soars, but high costs limit expansion plans

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Big, Brown and Bad All Over

Author: Elan Head

Phoenix Magazine

Issue: April, 2008, Page 233

In theory, Welch has the most privileged views of anyone in the Valley. From 3,000 or 4,000 feet, it should be possible to see the entire sprawling metropolitan area laid out like a street atlas – from the southeastern reaches of Queen Creek to the northwestern limits of Sun City West. But the air is frequently so dirty that he can barely make out the Chandler air traffic control tower as he’s headed back to the airport from the south.

“Imagine a picture of the morning fog over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then paint that brown over the city,” he says. “On the hot, still days of fall, after the monsoons are past, that’s what you get. When it’s at its worst, you can’t even make out the skyscrapers Downtown, even if Picacho Peak is crystal clear.”

Phoenix’s infamous “brown cloud” is bad enough from the ground. Seen from the air, it assumes a science fiction-like menace. No longer a soupy haze, but a cohesive, creeping fog that seems to be smothering the city, the brown cloud could be the aftermath of an apocalypse or the harbinger of an alien invasion.

Which begs the question: What, exactly, is it?

The answer: a suspension of fine particles spewed from our tailpipes and kicked up by our tires that is literally choking us to death. And because only certain types of pollutants make a visible contribution to the brown cloud, the problem is even worse than it looks. The air in Phoenix is inducing heart attacks and keeping kids home from school. It’s not an exaggeration to say that you’re shaving years off your life simply by living in the Valley.

Why Is the Sky Brown?

By its simplest definition, a brown cloud is a haze with a brown appearance – a haze being a suspension of particles that are too small to see individually but impair visibility in the aggregate when combined. Brown clouds aren’t unique to Phoenix; they occur over most large cities in the western United States. Ironically, it’s our lack of regional haze that makes “brown cloud” more of a buzz phrase west of the Mississippi than east of it. On the East Coast, large, multi-state regions are so generally hazy that it’s hard to pick out the urban clouds that hang over individual cities.

In environmental literature, the kinds of particles that contribute to air pollution are referred to as particulate matter, or PM. They are broken down by size. Particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less are called PM10. Particles that are still smaller, 2.5 micrometers or less, are called PM2.5. That’s incredibly small; by comparison, the diameter of a typical human hair is around 75 micrometers.

Hazes impair visibility by scattering and absorbing light, thereby decreasing the amount of light that travels from distant objects to our eyes. The amount of light scattered by a particle is mostly a function of its size, and there’s a “Goldilocks” phenomenon at work here. The smallest particles in the atmosphere are too small to scatter much light; the largest particles (generally coarse dust particles) are too large. Maximum scattering occurs from particles that are “just right” – those with a diameter roughly equal to the wavelength of light, or 0.5 micrometers. So most of the light scattering that occurs in the atmosphere is due to particles that fall into the PM2.5 category.

According to a 1999 report commissioned by the Maricopa Association of Governments – and still frequently cited in brown cloud literature – the particles that contribute most to haze in western urban areas are organic compounds such as ammonium nitrate, elemental carbon, fine soil dust particles and ammonium sulfate. The exact composition of brown clouds varies by region: Not surprisingly, dust contributes more to the brown cloud problem in Southwestern cities such as Phoenix than it does in the Pacific Northwest. 

Why are the clouds brown?  Light scattering is one way in which hazes impair visibility; light absorption is another. Increasing the light absorption in a haze makes it appear darker and tends to give it a brown appearance – an effect that owes a lot to the subjective properties of human vision. The human brain tends to perceive the brightest element of a scene as being white (which is why water clouds look white, even when they’re slightly blue). Clouds of a darker, more neutral color will look brown or yellow.

Elemental carbon – which has a chemical composition similar to pencil lead and exists in the atmosphere almost entirely as PM2.5 – is particularly efficient at absorbing light. It accounts for most of the “brown” in a brown cloud. Another contributor is the brown gas nitrogen dioxide, which is formed in the atmosphere from the nitrogen oxides emitted by combustion sources. In fact, nitrogen oxide is the only pollutant gas we can actually see. Other common ones, like carbon monoxide and ozone, are invisible.

Generally speaking, the primary sources of PM2.5 in urban areas are combustion sources, mostly gasoline and diesel engine exhaust. Combustion contributes to particulate pollution both directly, by emitting a variety of particles into the air, and indirectly, by emitting gases that are then oxidized in the atmosphere to create additional particles. Combustion is also the major source of elemental carbon. Across the West, our vehicles are the No. 1 cause of brown clouds.

Scientists can apportion blame for the brown cloud in a particular area by performing chemical mass balance calculations – mathematically computing the combination of emission sources that best account for the pollutants observed in the atmosphere. According to the 1999 MAG report, gasoline engine exhaust accounts for about half of the ambient PM2.5 in Maricopa County, and diesel engine exhaust accounts for about 15 percent. Although soil dust pollution is a huge problem in the Valley, accounting for roughly half of our total PM pollution, its contribution to the visible brown cloud is less significant, because most soil dust particles are too large to efficiently scatter light. Our brown cloud exists not because we live in the desert, but because we drive in it.

Clear Weather Warning

Learning about weather is an important part of a pilot’s training. In the air, you’re not just a weather observer – you’re a participant. Pilots learn early in their careers to distinguish between stable and unstable air; the former makes for a smoother ride, but it also makes it difficult to see.

Obviously, the brown cloud is a lot worse on some days than others. But (with the possible exception of the weekends) that’s not because we’re driving less, or have noticeably changed the amount or type of pollutants we’re pumping into the atmosphere. The one real variable is the weather, and weather is what determines the day-to-day clarity of our air.

As a general rule, brown clouds are most common on calm, cloudless mornings. Here’s why:

On clear nights, with no cloud cover to trap it, the Earth’s surface radiates its residual daytime heat into space. If the air is calm, that layer of air closest to the surface tends to stay there. As the surface cools down, the air next to it does, too.

This creates what’s known as an inversion. Typically, air gets thinner and colder as you gain altitude (which is why ski resorts tend to be in the mountains rather than at sea level). In an inversion, the air near the surface is cooler than the air above it. Because cold air sinks, it tends to stay there – and this stagnant air traps pollutants, creating the familiar brown cloud.

As the day progresses, the sun heats the Earth’s surface and the air next to it. This warm air rises and joins the wind flow aloft, dispersing any pollutants that go with it. For a pilot – and his or her passengers – the updrafts and downdrafts that result from convective heating make for a bumpy ride, but they improve visibility in the cockpit as well as on the ground. Regional weather systems with strong winds can also improve visibility by simply blowing pollutants away (although in Phoenix, they also can whip up some wicked dust storms).

In 1993, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) began measuring “light extinction” in Phoenix as a way of quantifying the effects of the brown cloud on visibility. Data from that program indicate that severe hazes occur most frequently from late September through February. There are a couple of reasons why the brown cloud is worse in the fall and winter. Shorter days give less opportunity for convective heating and the mixing action that comes with it. And since more morning commuting is done in the dark, before that convective mixing is active, brown clouds tend to become even denser and more persistent.

The Valley’s geographical features also play a role in the persistence of brown clouds. Night-time airflows tend to run downhill, as air that is cooled more rapidly by radiation on the exposed upper reaches of a slope sinks to replace the warmer air below it. Observations made at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport show that in the mornings, winds are typically light and come from the east, the result of cool air draining down the Salt River Valley. 

Afternoon winds are more variable but frequently occur from the west. When this is the case, air that was blown out of Phoenix in the morning is pushed back in the afternoon – and we breathe a double dose of pollutants, from both our morning and our evening commutes.

Because many air pollutants are invisible, clear air doesn’t necessarily equate to healthy air. But common sense dictates – and science supports – that when the brown cloud is hanging over the Valley, the air is bad for us in all kinds of ways. For example, combustion sources create invisible as well as visible pollutants (and motor vehicles also kick up PM10 pollution in the form of road dust). The same weather patterns that keep visible pollutants over the city keep invisible ones there as well.

A Silent Killer

What are the consequences of breathing in the brown cloud? Significant. The toxic cocktail of pollutants in our air affects us in multiple ways.

Let’s take particulate matter, first. According to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2007 report, exposure to particulate pollution is killing us – and not just slowly. Even short-term exposure to particulate pollution is linked to increased mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, especially among children and the elderly. High particulate pollution is directly linked to greater infant mortality, more heart attacks and more hospitalizations for conditions such as strokes. “Unfortunately, particle pollution does not just make people die a few days earlier than they might otherwise; these are deaths that would not have occurred if the air was cleaner,” the report states.

Long-term exposure to particulate pollution kills, too. Breathing particulate pollution day in and day out puts us at increased risk for lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The effects of living with particulate pollution are similar to smoking: According to a 2005 review of existing research, the body responds to particulate matter much as it does to cigarette smoke. Even if you’re healthy now, expect the effects to catch up with you – chronic exposure to particulate pollution will shorten your life by one to three years.

Ozone pollution also is taking years off our lives. As with particulate pollution, high levels of ozone are associated with greater mortality in people with heart failure, pulmonary congestion or lung disease. Even in relatively healthy people, exposure to ozone can trigger some immediate adverse effects: shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing, and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections. Chronic exposure can cause pulmonary inflammation and increased asthma attacks.

According to the governor’s office, in 2005, Arizonans spent 23,000 patient days – more than 60 years – in the hospital for asthma. Air pollution is especially problematic for asthma sufferers. Heightened and more frequent asthma attacks triggered by air pollution are the primary cause of school absences among children in Arizona. In 2005, more than 2,500 Arizona children under the age of 15 were hospitalized for asthma.

“Just living here and breathing the air, you’re probably taking one percent off your lifespan,” says Sandy Bahr, conservation outreach director for the Sierra Club. “It’s just criminal that we have to tell our children to play inside because the air is so bad.”

A Hazy Situation

Just how bad is bad?

Ozone and particulates are the biggest offenders in Maricopa County. The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2007 report gave the county an “F” grade for ozone pollution and a “D” grade for particle pollution. (Most other counties in Arizona received an “A” or “B” on the same scale.)

According to the Sierra Club, in 2005, Maricopa County exceeded the federal health standard for ozone 30 times. And “all of the recent research indicates that the levels established by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) are not protective enough of public health,” Bahr says.

Ozone is formed when sunlight reacts with volatile organic compounds emitted from vehicles and other sources. So unlike the brown cloud, which is seen more frequently in the fall and winter, ozone is at its worst during the long, sunny days of summer.

However, PM10 pollution – from construction activities, vehicular travel, agriculture and other sources – is Maricopa County’s biggest challenge. In 2005, the Phoenix area exceeded the federal health standard for particulates 20 times; in 2006, it exceeded it 23 times. Because Maricopa County failed to meet PM10 standards by its deadline of December 31, 2006, we now have a federal obligation to cut particulate emissions by 5 percent per year until we’re in compliance. If we fail, we could lose up to $1 billion in federal highway funding – a threat that has finally spurred our traditionally recalcitrant legislature into action. 

The history of pollution control in Phoenix is a long, discouraging record of political compromises and half-hearted gestures.

“In the ’80s and early ’90s, the state wouldn’t take action unless someone filed a lawsuit,” Bahr says. “Overall, the history is one of someone having to push the elected officials.”

The regulatory foundation for pollution control efforts is the federal Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1970 and amended in 1990. (The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 to help enforce the provisions of the Act.) Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for six primary air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone.

When an area fails to meet one of these standards, it is designated a non-attainment area for the pollutant in question – the equivalent of a failing grade on a school progress report. Under the Clean Air Act, the state must then develop what’s called a State Implementation Plan, or SIP. The SIP lays out enforceable strategies for achieving compliance – essentially a state’s promise to try harder and do its homework. The first Arizona SIP was submitted in 1972, and the state has been adding to those promises ever since.

The Act gives state and local governments considerable leeway in how they attack pollution. However, SIPs are subject to EPA approval. If the EPA deems a plan inadequate – or if that plan fails to achieve the desired results – the Act brings increasingly stringent measures to bear on the non-attainment area in question. If necessary, the EPA can issue sanctions against a state or, in some cases, take over enforcement of the Clean Air Act in that area.

However, that’s not a quick or efficient process. As an example, take this abbreviated history of Maricopa County’s non-compliance with PM10 standards, taken from the PM10 SIP:

• In 1990, Congress enacted the Clean Air Act Amendments. Maricopa County was deemed a “moderate” non-attainment area for PM10 and required to show improvement by 1994.

• In 1991, Arizona submitted its moderate area PM10 state implementation plan to the EPA, but it wasn’t approved until 1995.

• In April 1995, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (ACLPI) filed suit against the EPA, challenging its approval of the 1991 plan because it failed to address the 24-hour PM10 standard.

•  Meanwhile, the Phoenix area continued to exceed both annual and 24-hour standards for PM10. In May 1996, the EPA reclassified it from a “moderate” to a “serious” non-attainment area, allowing Arizona another 18 months to develop an appropriate serious area plan. The new deadline for attainment became December 31, 2001.

• In December 1997, Arizona submitted its serious area plan to the EPA. In February 1998, the EPA determined that the plan was inadequate in several ways. That triggered an 18-month time clock for mandatory application of sanctions and a two-year time clock for application of a federal implementation plan.

• In June 1999, the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Regional Council adopted a serious area plan for PM10 that contained 77 state and local government control measure commitments. ADEQ submitted this plan to the EPA in July 1999.

• In November 1999, EPA notified MAG of deficiencies in its plan. A revised plan was submitted in February 2000.

• In July 2002, EPA approved Arizona’s serious area PM10 plan for Maricopa County and granted Arizona’s request to extend the attainment deadline from 2001 (which had already passed) to 2006.

• In 2006, Maricopa County once again failed to attain PM10 standards. Arizona was given a deadline of December 31, 2007, to submit a plan for achieving a 5 percent reduction in PM10 emissions per year until the PM10 standard is attained.

• Arizona submitted that plan on December 26, 2007. Now the EPA has six months to determine if the plan is complete and another 12 months to approve or reject it.

“One of the things that you see is that it’s very slow-going,” says Joy Herr-Cardillo, an attorney with the nonprofit Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest who has been active in the center’s air quality efforts. “A lot of it’s frustrating for me when I’m sitting there waiting for the EPA to take action.”

The fact that we’re still failing to meet PM10 standards reflects poorly on the 18-year back-and-forth process recorded above. Clearly, the pollution controls proposed by the state and approved by the EPA were inadequate to meet air quality standards by 2006 – a deadline that had already been extended several times. In the absence of sufficient political will, it has been up to groups like the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest to keep the process moving forward. The ACLPI has taken numerous actions related to air quality over the years, generally with the aim of forcing the EPA to enforce its own requirements.

“The whole [Clean Air] Act was designed to have this private right of enforcement, this citizen’s suit provision,” Herr-Cardillo says.

“We haven’t won all of our cases, but we’ve won enough of them that it does keep the agencies on their toes,” she continues. “A lot of stuff ended up not getting litigated just by the act of bringing the suit…. Sometimes the 60-day notice [of intent to sue] is all it takes for people to get their act together.”

Cleaning Up Our Act

There are now encouraging signs from elected officials, who have historically allowed pressure from industry groups to hamstring air quality reform. In June 2007, the Arizona Legislature passed Senate Bill 1552, which, among other measures, includes requirements for dust training and dust coordinators on large construction sites; expands the use of cleaner-burning gasoline during the summer months; places limits on where off-road vehicles can drive; and requires cities and towns to pave or stabilize unpaved roads and shoulders. According to ADEQ spokesman Mark Shaffer, the municipal ordinances required by SB 1552 will be adopted by March 2008.

The bill is one component of Arizona’s effort to reduce PM10 pollution by 5 percent per year, as required by the EPA. According to Shaffer, Arizona’s “Five Percent Plan” – the latest SIP – was developed by the Maricopa Association of Governments with input from local municipalities, ADEQ, the EPA, the state Division of Weights and Measures, Department of Agriculture, the Arizona Farm Bureau, local homebuilders and others.

Additionally, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors developed its own plan for the area that includes Apache Junction (two major provisions are paving four miles of public dirt roads and a no-burn ordinance that bans outdoor fires on high PM10 pollution advisory days). ADEQ adopted both plans and submitted them to the EPA.

ADEQ and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors are also trying to raise public awareness about air pollution. Shaffer says that ADEQ has introduced a text-messaging option for high pollution advisories. In February, the Board of Supervisors launched “Running Out of Air,” a county-wide campaign to encourage citizens to do their part to curb dust pollution.

These initiatives do not have purely idealistic motives. Bahr notes that, in part, SB 1552 was “driven by the fact that people were concerned about losing those federal highway dollars.”

In fact, although the federal highway funding at risk is substantial, we’re not in imminent danger of losing it. According to Herr-Cardillo, the state will not really see sanctions as long as it keeps making efforts to improve its air – even if those efforts are largely unsuccessful.

“The sanctions only kick in if the state stops trying,” Herr-Cardillo says. “The way they get into trouble with the Clean Air Act is when they thumb their nose at it… and that’s actually the kind of thing they used to do.”

There is more we could be doing to clean up our air. For years, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest has tried to require clean-burning CARB diesel in the state (“CARB” refers to the California Air Resources Board).

“Particularly for the smallest of the particulate matter, it would go a long way,” Herr-Cardillo says. However, the most recent plan submitted to the EPA has no provision for it, and the EPA has stated that it will approve a plan without CARB diesel.

The Sierra Club would like to see stronger agricultural controls, more attention paid to sand and gravel permitting, and additional funding for mass transit. It would also like to see an “indirect source” review program for new development.

Bahr points out that new development contributes to air pollution not just during its construction, but over its lifespan, by increasing the number of vehicles and vehicle miles travelled. An indirect source review program would reward developers for things like mixed land use, pedestrian-friendly development and energy-efficient construction that reduces pollution over the life of the project.

“One could argue that part of the reason for failing to meet the mark in 2006 was failing to enforce [air quality measures]… but also just doing the bare minimum,” Bahr says.

As members of the single-occupancy-vehicle, gas-guzzling general public, we’re the ones who contribute most to our brown cloud. But that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t change our ways, given the opportunity.

“I actually think people are more willing to make changes now, but they want people to tell them why and how it’s going to help,” Bahr says. “Really, it does matter what each of us does.”

And Herr-Cardillo believes there’s substantial public support for tough air quality legislation and enforcement.

“I would say that the public is very supportive of stringent measures,” she says. “I think people get really, really frustrated that we’re still living with it [air pollution]…. But I do think we continue to see progress.”

Meanwhile, we catch our deep breaths when and where we can. South of Phoenix, one or two thousand feet above the ground, the air is actually clear enough to make out some hazy stars at night – a sight that has been missing from the city for years.

“The advantage of flying south of the city is being able to escape,” Welch says. “The worst part of seeing the brown cloud is knowing you eventually have to go back into it.”

Author: Elan Head

Phoenix Magaze

Issue: April, 2008, Page 233

http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/200804/big--brown-and-bad-all-over/1/

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New federal smog standards raise challenge for Valley

JJ Hensley and Yvonne Wingett
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 13, 2008 12:00 AM

A slight change in federal ozone standards could bump Maricopa County into the unhealthful range more often but may ultimately save billions of dollars and benefit public health.

The Environmental Protection Agency introduced the new ozone standards Wednesday that administrators say are "the most stringent ever."

Although Maricopa County has not exceeded ozone standards in three years, it has been close, and the new standards may push the area over the edge.

The current standard is effectively 0.084 part per million or below. The new standard will be 0.075 part per million.

"Quite simply . . . we will have a problem with meeting the (new) federal standard," said Bob Kard, head of the county's air-quality department. "We're on the ragged edge. It's going to be a massive undertaking. I think we can do this, I think it will be a benefit to public health, but it's going to have to take a lot of work."

Regional environmental officials said they were waiting to assess the impact of the decision and had not received guidelines from the EPA that would spell out deadlines and strategies for achieving compliance.

In all, 345 counties - including Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Gila counties - would violate the new standard.

Bringing them into compliance would prevent 900 to 1,100 premature deaths a year nationally, according to the agency, and result in 5,600 fewer hospital or emergency-room visits.

In Maricopa County, the 20 monitors that measure ozone in the county's "non-attainment," or problem, areas are trending downward overall, said Lindy Bauer, environmental director of the Maricopa Association of Governments.

However, ozone readings at one monitor in Rio Verde have reached 0.083 part per million, just barely meeting the current standard of 0.084 ppm.

Levels at that monitor are also trending downward, according to the most recent data.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson called the new smog requirements "the most stringent standards ever" and said they will require counties that fail to meet the standard to make improvements.

Johnson said state and local officials have considerable time to meet the new requirements, as much as 20 years for some that have the most serious pollution problems. The EPA estimates that, by 2020, the number of counties failing to meet the new health standard will drop to about 28.

About 85 counties fall short of the old standard, which was enacted a decade ago.

But the regulations could also cost businesses anywhere from $7 billion to $11 billion to implement better smog controls, according to estimates from the EPA and industry groups.

Business advocates also claim the science supporting the health effects of reducing the standards is specious.

Businesses had lobbied hard for leaving the smog rule alone, saying the high cost of lower limits could hurt the economy.

In recent weeks, some of the most powerful industry groups in Washington have waged an intense lobbying campaign at the White House, urging the administration to keep the current standard.

Electric utilities, the oil and chemical industries and manufacturing groups argued that tougher standards would require states and local officials to impose new pollution controls, harming economic growth, when the science has yet to determine the health benefits conclusively.

However, others said the EPA didn't go far enough.

John M. Balbus, a physician and the chief health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, said, "Clearly, at some point, you get to a level where additional benefits just aren't worth it, but I don't think we're there at 75.

"The EPA's own risk estimates show that, between 75 and 70, there will be hundreds more deaths and thousands more visits to emergency rooms, and hundreds of thousands of more lost school days," he said, arguing for a tougher standard of 0.065 ppm.

Estimates released Wednesday say the new threshold could prevent cases of bronchitis, asthma, heart attack, premature death and hospital and emergency-room visits, with potential health-care-related savings totaling $2 billion to $19 billion, according to the agency.

The EPA enacted the 0.08-ppm standard in 1997, but a series of court challenges from industry groups delayed its implementation for several years.

The federal Clean Air Act requires that health standards for ozone and a handful of other air pollutants not take costs into account.

But Johnson said that ought to change. He said the Bush administration plans to propose legislation to Congress to overhaul the 1970 law so that, in the future, costs can be considered when setting health standards.

Arizona will be responsible for submitting a plan on how to clean up the Valley's air.

Tougher standards could be placed on various products sold in the Valley in order to meet the stricter ozone-pollution limits, Kard said.

Those range from gasoline delivery and paints to spray-on deodorants, hair products and glues, which emit pollution-forming chemicals.

Regional officials are waiting on the EPA to spell out the details of the plan, including key dates and implementation guidelines, Bauer said.

"The question is: How long will the EPA give the region to attain the standard," Bauer said.

"Then, we'll be able to see what it means for our region."


Republic wire services contributed to this article.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0313azozone0313.html

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Push for public transit spreads across Arizona

Traffic problems no longer limited to biggest cities

Glen Creno

Phoenix and Tucson aren't the only Arizona cities betting new transit systems will slow the rising tide of traffic.

Many of the state's rural communities are studying how to set up bus, van or trolley systems to handle the growing number of vehicles on their roads.

Cities from Prescott to Kingman to Maricopa have seen their populations explode in recent years, and roadway expansions alone haven't been enough to ease traffic.

"They're taking transit more seriously as an option to move people," said Matt Carpenter, planning program manager for the Arizona Department of Transportation. "It's all relative to growth."

Maricopa planners say they must set up a shuttle system to deal with the city's No. 1 transportation problem: backups on Arizona 347.

The shuttles will deliver commuters to jobs and services in downtown Phoenix and south Chandler and ease congestion on the stretch of highway that runs between Maricopa and Phoenix.

The population in Maricopa, south of Phoenix and in the center of the Pinal County housing boom, shot up 1,884 percent since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As a result, traffic on Arizona 347 has been an ongoing problem.

"We have a highway that is approaching capacity, and the last three months, it's more difficult because of the construction, which was absolutely imperative because the road was falling apart," said Brent Billingsley, Maricopa's transportation director.

Other areas of the state are also looking at launching or expanding transit service:

• Pinal County and the Gila River Indian Community are planning studies to assess transit needs.

• The Western Arizona Council of Governments is planning a feasibility study for transit connections among Kingman, Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City.

• The Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization is looking at a bus system for Prescott, Chino Valley, Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt and Yavapai County. Transit could range from a full fixed-route bus system serving the cities to voucher programs that let people ride existing systems.

That region has always been thought of for its small-town charm, but Jodi Rooney, the agency's administrator, calls it the "Prescott urbanized area." The region is expected to grow from about 125,000 residents now to approximately 440,000 by 2030.

"All these people are moving to Arizona," Rooney said. "The infrastructure has to keep up."

Population growth

Metro Phoenix gets a lot of attention when it comes to transit in Arizona. A new report ranks the area No. 15 nationally for traffic congestion. But Phoenix isn't the state's only population magnet.

According to the Census Bureau, Prescott's population increased 22 percent from 2000 to the middle of last year. Kingman increased 36 percent, and Lake Havasu City grew 34 percent. The population of Phoenix, excluding suburbs, rose 15 percent in the same period.

The Prescott-area study found that 53 percent of people in the region said they would be "very likely" to use a transit system, with an additional 27 percent saying they would be "somewhat likely" to use it. People wanted transit to be cheap, to reduce traffic and to create a cleaner environment and better quality of life.

Maricopa residents don't need a reminder about how bad traffic can be in and out of their city, but they got one recently when a local magazine ran an aerial photo of gridlock on Arizona 347.

Resident Cherie Halvorson saw the problem from ground level when she commuted from Maricopa to her job at a midtown Phoenix mortgage company. She said it was a fight just to get to Interstate 10, where more backups waited. Her commute from driveway to office was 1½ hours.

Transit demand

There's a big demand for rural transit that hasn't been filled, according to ADOT. Statewide, there are 1.4 million people who would use rural transit now if they had access to it. ADOT said that 18 percent of current demand for rural transit is being served and that that figure will drop to 13 percent by 2016 if more service isn't introduced.

ADOT's Carpenter said that rural sections of the state may face an even greater challenge as its elderly population grows from 23.2 percent of the total in 2005 to 27.7 percent in 2015. Transit is a lifeline for many elderly and low-income people and that sometimes is overlooked when transit discussions focus on the best ways to get commuters to their jobs.

"I think these systems take enormous pressure off of the roads," said Dave Barber, transportation planner for the Western Arizona Council of Governments. "I would guess 30 to 40 percent of the trips are for employment purposes. . . . But it's also the elderly person who needs to go to anything from a food-stamp appointment to a Social Security appointment."

Small-city transit faces some of the same challenges as systems in larger areas. Money is at the top of the list of key issues. Cities can tap federal funds to help finance the startup and operation of transit systems. But the cities have to chip in, too, and that's not a popular sell to residents, especially with a growing system with increasing costs.

Maricopa received a federal grant of more than $430,000 to be used for capital spending and operations for its shuttle system. That leaves about $160,000 for the city to pay.

The shuttle system is expected to be up and running next spring and eventually will expand within Maricopa once more jobs come, planners said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1019rural-transit1018.html

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Driving city streets under construction along the light rail route is a mess: lane closures, sidewalk closures, orange cones, concrete barricades and heavy equipment machinery.

Businesses along the route, from the Heard Museum to stores at Park Central Mall have noticed a drop in visitors.

Earlier this week Mayor Phil Gordon and Councilman Tom Simplot announced www.ShopTheLine.net, a virtual shopping mall, to help consumers shop at businesses along the light rail route.

Simplot said the city and businesses worked to offer a creative solution to the drop in foot traffic.

By visiting the website, consumers get direct access to more than 100 stores, restaurants and services along the Phoenix METRO light-rail alignment.

"Some businesses have a link, others will e-mail specials," said Simplot, who met with business leaders weekly over the summer. "In the beginning it was so painful, business owners were angry and we felt so bad. I said, 'I wanna help.' We always knew we'd get through (solutions)."

Marilyn Tomblin, owner of the Green Woodpecker Flower and Gifts in Park Central Mall, said for more than 30 years the shop has delivered flowers and plants to its customers, corporate clients and hospitals. The construction mess means her drivers have to think creatively getting to and from their destinations along Central Avenue.

"Fortunately, a lot of our business is already online, over the phone," Tomblin said. "We have a very loyal customer base, thank goodness. Some businesses here have really been affected by the inconvenience of getting in and out of the mall."

More than 3,200 new and established retail shops, restaurants, entertainment, personal and business service companies exist along the 13-mile Phoenix METRO light-rail alignment. Business owners along the route can add their businesses to the website for free and update the site as needed.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0926phx-shoptheline0928.html

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http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/96014

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Cities plan bus-line links to light rail
Kerry Fehr-Snyder
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 26, 2007 02:24 PM

Several Southeast Valley cities plan to tweak their bus routes and schedules while building park-and-ride lots to attract passengers to light-rail line stations opening late next year.

Mesa, Tempe and Chandler are making the adjustments as a way to extend the reach of the $1.4billion, 20-mile light-rail line.

Tempe
Tempe will modify several of its bus routes to time them with the light-rail system's arrivals and departures.

"We're definitely going to need to modify our routes," said Sue Taaffe, a Tempe spokeswoman.

One of its most popular bus lines, Route 81, runs north-south on McClintock Drive before turning west on University Drive to head to downtown Tempe.

But after the light-rail line opens in December 2008, Tempe will reroute the bus line to turn west on Apache Boulevard, where passengers can pick up light rail at its McClintock/Apache station.

Route 1 along Washington Street will be removed from the bus route in Tempe because it follows a similar path being built for the light-rail line.

Similarly, the Red Line that takes passengers from Apache Boulevard to Sky Harbor International Airport will change to a Tempe-only route because riders will be able to take light rail instead.

Tempe also plans to coordinate the service provided by its three new Orbit neighborhood circulator buses and its two modified Orbit routes to tie into the light rail schedule, Taaffe said.

In addition, it is building three park-and-ride lots along the city's 5.5-mile portion of the line. The lots are near three of its light-rail stations. There will be 700 parking spaces at its Price Road station, 300 spaces at its McClintock Road station and 100 spaces at its Dorsey Lane station between McClintock and Rural roads.

Mesa
Mesa will introduce rapid-transit service from Superstition Springs Mall to its Sycamore Street light-rail station, east of Dobson Road.

The service, scheduled to begin in December 2008, will take passengers north-south along Power Road from the mall near U.S. 60 and then east-west on Main Street to the Sycamore Street station. That station is the end of the line for the eastern portion of the light-rail system.

"We really see this as a rubber-tire extension of the light rail," said Mike James, Mesa's deputy transportation director.

The new route is an express service that will stop about every mile compared with standard bus routes that stop every quarter mile or more often.

The rapid bus transit service, which is being paid for with Proposition 400 sales tax money, will feature more stylized buses that set them apart from standard city buses.

In addition, the Sycamore Transit Center will feature electronic signs telling passengers when the next rapid-transit bus is coming so that riders can plan trips to and from the light-rail line.

Mesa also is building a dedicated park-and-ride lot with more than 200 spaces for passengers coming from the eastern part of the city. It has plans to build other park-and-ride lots at Power Road and Loop 202 and Gilbert Road and Loop 202 in the future.

Chandler
Mesa also is planning a second rapid-transit bus line in cooperation with Chandler.

It would run along Arizona Avenue/Country Club Drive and bring passengers from as far south as the a park-and-ride lot to be built at Tumbleweed Park at Germann Road and Arizona Avenue in Chandler, which will be operating then, north to the Sycamore light-rail station.

The route would begin about two years after light rail begins service in 2008, James said.

Susan Tierney, spokeswoman for Valley Metro, which operates the system under the name Metro, said the park-and-ride lots and local bus service are key to making light rail a success.

"Basically we look at the system as being complementary," she said of the extended bus routes. "You can't have light rail without bus. You have to have a system that gets people to the light rail system efficiently."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0726tr-lightrailaccess0727.html

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Light-rail test a smooth ride
Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 24, 2007 11:26 PM

It stopped traffic. It turned heads. It worked.

Crawling down Washington Street like an overgrown toddler, a Metro light-rail vehicle made its maiden voyage under its own power on Tuesday.

The train crept down a mile of track at a top speed of 3 mph with a team of engineers strutting alongside like proud parents.

"It works! Thank God," Metro spokeswoman Marty McNeil said as the vehicle inched down Washington on newly installed electric power lines. "We've towed one of these out here before, but this is the first time we've done it under power, and it's working great."

Tuesday was engineers' first chance to evaluate the rail line's software and electrical system. The trains are powered by electricity from overhead wires.

"The interfaces between the overhead power supply and train . . . performed flawlessly," Jay Harper, Metro operations manager, said in an e-mail.

Two years after Metro broke ground on the $1.4 billion light-rail system, the trains are undergoing a battery of tests in advance of their planned December 2008 opening. The 20-mile starter line stretches from central Phoenix to Mesa.

Later this week, Metro is planning a high-speed test for one of the 17 trains assembled so far. Late at night, engineers will take the vehicle up to 58 mph to test brakes and a system designed to prevent the train from exceeding posted speeds.

The road tests will continue through this December.

Separated from the road by a 6-inch concrete curb, the train rolled by about 30 minutes later than scheduled Tuesday because of additional last-minute safety precautions, officials said. But they were pleased with the train's first trip.

"The test team is delighted with the results," Harper said. "To have the first test out in the street in a very complex system go so well had everyone in good spirits."

Each time the train went through an intersection, Phoenix police stopped traffic to let it pass. Many motorists slowed during the exercise between 44th and 56th streets to gawk at the $2.75 million vehicle.

Most just stared. Some honked. One man stuck a digital camera out his driver's-side window, taking snapshots as he went.

Passers-by said they were eager to use light rail.

"I'd do it just on the whim of it," said Jack O'Malley, a retired car salesman who was taking photos of the vehicle. "When I have visitors, it'd be a treat for them to ride the train."

O'Malley scrambled onto the guideway to take pictures, ignoring Metro officials' pleas to stay out of the train's path.

When engineers finally chased the 74-year-old man off the tracks, he said he couldn't wait to send his photos to his friends around the country.

"They still think we're a big sandbox here in Arizona," O'Malley said with a chuckle. "But I've lived to see science fiction come true."

http://img.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0424train0425.html

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Maricopa County Strives to Bring Back Blue!

http://www.maricopa.gov/pr_detail.aspx?releaseID=428

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Valley faces deadline to clean bad air

Corinne Purtill
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 1, 2007 12:00 AM

Today is the first day of a new era in air.

When the clock hit midnight last night, Maricopa County missed its deadline to reduce the unhealthful amount of dust in its air.

Over the next 365 days, the Maricopa Association of Governments must come up with a plan to cut the equivalent of 5 percent of particulate emissions from the air each year until the county reaches the federal standard.

Maricopa County is only the second region in the nation that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put on this stringent program, which is known as the Five Percent Plan.

California's San Joaquin Valley is the other.

If we fail - meeting the standard will require changes from everyone - then Maricopa County faces federal sanctions, including the loss of up to $1.1 billion over five years in federal highway money. MAG has proposed a list of possible solutions that rely on cooperation from the state, local governments, residents and industry.

However, there are a few problems.

Industry says it has been squeezed enough by regulation.

The Legislature has passed on some of those same solutions before.

And recent history has shown that while we may complain about air quality, we are not always willing to go out of our way to do much about it.

Take a deep breath. It's going to be a long year.

A matter of health

Maricopa County has a major problem with a little substance called PM-10.

That is airborne particulate matter measuring 10 microns or less in size - dust, basically. It irritates the respiratory system and can cause lung damage and premature death. It is particularly hazardous to children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

"It's a basic human health issue," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter. "We have days where children can't go outside and play, and really, that's just criminal."

With readings at the county's 23 monitors consistently over the federal limit for particulates, the EPA ordered Maricopa County to clean up its air.

To be considered "clean" under the Clean Air Act, the county needed to have no more than three violations at the monitors over the three-year period that ended Sunday.

Instead, the county had its dirtiest years ever.

In 2005, there were a record-setting 19 days in which particulate pollution exceeded the federal standard, and 2006 smashed that record, with 27 days over the limit.

Today, in its own version of a new year's resolution, the county must start working to cut back on emissions.

Under the Five Percent Plan, MAG must first take stock of how much particulate matter is in the air and where it's coming from.

The agency then will draw up a list of measures to reduce emissions. Some will require state or legislative action to implement. Others will require tighter regulation of businesses by the county or voluntary participation from residents.

Starting in 2008, Maricopa County will have to bring its emissions to 95 percent or less of 2007 levels. In 2009, emissions must be 90 percent or less. This continues until particulate matter in the air measures no more than the federal standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter over 24 hours.

Reaching the public

An early draft of the county's emissions inventory, produced by MAG last month, found that 51 percent of expected PM-10 emissions this year will be from residential, commercial and road construction. Vehicle travel on paved and unpaved roads accounts for 35 percent. The remainder comes from agriculture, other industry, fires and such small engines as leaf blowers.

MAG planners relied on the emissions inventory when crafting a draft of 32 proposed reduction measures unveiled last month.

Topping the list is a $1,025,000 public outreach campaign that the Maricopa County Air Quality Department will roll out this month. Similar to an earlier anti-dust campaign in Clark County, Nev., home of Las Vegas, the print and broadcast ads will try to turn residents off to pollution the way Smokey Bear's ads warned about forest fires.

"The idea is to reach out to the public so that they understand that dust is harmful to breathe," said Lindy Bauer, MAG environmental director.

The proposal also calls for heavy regulation of the construction industry. Suggested measures include dust managers stationed at all construction sites of 50 or more acres, night and weekend inspections and increased fines for dust-control violations.

Other measures, such as reducing off-road vehicle use, instituting a speed limit of 15 mph on some dirt roads and paving dirt roads and parking lots, would require adoption by local city councils or the state Legislature.

Contractors disagree

Even in draft form, the list has drawn criticism.

Construction industry representatives have balked at the suggestion that their work is responsible for more than half of emissions.

MAG has declined industry requests to see the data used in the inventory, saying that it's only in draft form and will be released at the end of this month.

Industry representatives say the county is cracking down harder on them to compensate for the areas they can't control, such as agriculture or vehicle use.

 The fact that violations continue at the monitors despite recent stricter control measures on construction show that the county's strategy isn't working, said David Martin, president of the Arizona Associated General Contractors.

"They're applying the tourniquet to the leg when they have a nosebleed problem," he said.

Bob Kard, director of the county Air Quality Department, said there is no way to clean up emissions without further restricting construction.

"We have to be tougher," Kard said.

"What I'm seeing right now . . . is sometimes our penalties are treated as the cost of doing business."

Valley air-quality regulators recommended several state actions last year, such as beefing up state oversight over agricultural operations, changing a state law so that outdoor fireplaces and fire pits must abide by no-burn days and banning leaf-blower use on high-pollution days. But none was acted upon.

It's not yet clear how the new Legislature will respond to clean-air proposals.

 Then there is the public. In an online poll by The Arizona Republic last month, 81 percent of respondents said they pay no attention to the high-pollution advisories exhorting them to drive less and modify their activities on days when pollution is bad. Three percent said they had never heard of high-pollution advisories.

Over the next six months, MAG members and other affected parties will hammer out the details of what the region is willing to commit itself to in order to reduce particulates. Member governments will vote to implement the measures by June, and MAG will submit a plan to the EPA by Dec. 31.

"If we don't, EPA is going to impose a plan on us," said Steve Owens, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

"That's a pretty powerful motivation for everybody to be at the table."

Reach the reporter at corinne.purtill@arizonarepublic.com (602) 444-4834.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0101airpollution0101.html

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Light-rail chief keeps project rolling along

Sean Holstege

The Arizona Republic

Dec. 18, 2006 12:00 AM

For many people, light rail means torn-up streets, detours and heavy construction.

But within months, trains will be running in the streets on a test basis. That will spur thoughts about how well the system will operate and what the ride will be like.

The man in charge of train operations is Joe Marie, who has spent his entire 21-year career in the transit industry.

Marie, 43, is immersed in preparations for running light rail, even though opening day is two years off. His to-do list is enormous and includes testing trains along Washington Street starting in March.

Marie, a Boston native, exudes self-assurance. In an accent as thick as the Charles River, he expresses confidence that the Valley's 20-mile starter system will work well and may open early.

In today's Arizona Republic, he talks about his work and the challenges ahead.

Light rail chief is pushing project onto fast track
Joe Marie is the man in charge of train operations for the Valley's new light-rail system. In an interview with The Republic, he talks about the challenges he faces and why he thinks the system might open early.

Question: Why did you want this job? The temperature reaches 115 degrees in the summer and many people dislike light rail.

Answer: "It's the challenge. To get to the top of the mountain is shallow. The side of the mountain is what sustains life. It's getting there that counts, not arriving."

Q: You've been in transit your whole life. What draws you? Were you one of those kids with a train set?

A: "No, I fell into transit. At age 22, I'd never been on an airplane. I got a flight to Brussels for $99 on People Express. I spent the next few months loafing around Europe. I took trains all over the place. I happened to be in Munich (Germany) when I ran out of money. I called my mom, and she said I got a call from (Boston's transit district). I started as a $7-an-hour analyst."

Q: Trains are arriving with regularity now. When you peer under the tarp, what's the first thing you look at?

A: "The future. Getting the trains here means you're really moving now. It represents a shift from building stuff to operating it. . . . Aesthetically, I think it's a beautiful train. The Valley is becoming a very modern-looking place, and the train reflects that. In many respects, it looks very futuristic.

Q: What's the most striking thing the passengers will notice?

A: "Because of the size of the windows, you'll be able to see everywhere. It's 92 feet long. There's a perception of a lot of space."

Q: What will they most like, and most hate?

A: "People will like the ease of movement. They'll have to get familiar with proof-of-payment (the honor system of paying fares)."

Q: With an honor system, how do you stop Metro from getting ripped off?

A: "All the recent new (light-rail systems) have been proof-of-payment, and they have been as effective in collecting fares as barrier-and-gate systems. Most people pay fares. Those that don't will find out really fast it's not the right thing to do." (Fines are expected to be around $100.)

Q: How will you test the trains?

A: "Metro begins by measuring the dimensions of the trains to assure they clear platforms, overhead power lines and each other. Then "we tow a train around the yard at 5 mph. It's a painstaking process. Then we take it out between 44th and 56th streets (the test track on Washington Street) and walk the train around at 3 mph. Then we fire up the substations and roll it, starting at 5 mph and gradually up to 35 mph. Then we start high-speed dynamic testing, back and forth, hour after hour. We need to do thousands of runs of the first train.

"We check the brake pressure, acceleration rates, deceleration rates. We do a failure-mode analysis. We knock out whole systems to see if the train runs. We do a spin-slide test. Just like anti-lock brakes on your car, the wheels automatically brake if they detect a slide. So we'll put water on the trail and put the car in a hard emergency brake. Then we fill the train with sandbags to simulate a full car."

Q: In Minneapolis, you were testing trains late the night before opening. Will that happen here?

A: "We were rushing in Minneapolis because the trains were ordered late. We really pushed to the last minute. It was an all-out sprint. In Minneapolis we got our first car 15 months before opening day. Here, we already have five cars on our property and we have two years . . . They ordered the trains early, in January 2004, even before we had (federal funding). The cities made that decision. It was a great decision. It was the smartest thing they did."

Q: Would you bet your Scottsdale house that Metro will open within budget by December 26, 2008?

A: "Yes. I'm not a gambling man, but we have a lot of track laid and cars in the barn ready to be assembled. My relative experience tells me we're in good shape. . . . Our challenges are big. Nobody's going to say it's easy. But we have a cushion at the end. (If systems testing goes well) we could open early."

Q: Many rail veterans say there are too many stops on Central Avenue. Are there?

A: "No. End-to-end, the travel time is 58 minutes. The truth of the matter is the core is pretty dense. The ride is going to be quick enough and there's, on average, a station every three-quarters of a mile. That's not a lot." (A computerized traffic system helps trains get green traffic lights.) Without that, "I'd be really worried."

Q: How will passengers know they've gotten their money's worth?

A: "Do they feel safe? Do they have predictability? Are we on time? If we do that, people will come back to us. Our goal is 26,000 riders. We should do better than that. . . . You're only as good as your last commute. When you spend $1.4 billion on something, you should have predictability. People expect it and they should."

Q: Metro has a tight schedule and budget. How do you keep to that without sacrificing quality? If you had to, where could you cut corners?

A: "We won't cut quality. We won't compromise on that. You need to manage the money now. You need that discipline now. You don't wait until the end to manage a money crisis. People are much more cost conscious."

Q: So why did Metro pay more for the same service? (Last month Metro awarded a $27 million contract to Alternate Concepts Inc. to run the trains. The next best bid, by Washington Group International Inc., was for $22 million, but in a 12,500-point competition, ACI beat WGI by only 33 points. WGI is appealing the decision.)

A: "Price was just one factor. It's driven by schedule. You need 24/7 coverage in the control center. You need field superintendents. You need operators. We have a labor agreement to hire operators. So the cost structure is pretty much the same for all bidders. I can't get into details (because the bid has been appealed to the Federal Transit Administration), but price was not the biggest factor. We would have paid the same no matter who we hired. These guys all use the same scheduling program."

Q: What's the most daunting part of your job?

A: "Now, it's the volume of all the test reports and the magnitude of coordinating the Phoenix police, construction managers, signals, traction power, vehicles, line-section contractors, operations contractors and car maintenance. Getting all these people to understand each other is daunting."

Q: The most rewarding?

A: "Personnel development. There's a lot of growth for the people around you. I've learned some valuable lessons in the last five to 10 years. When I was younger, I had a lot of high-energy, high-octane people around me, guys like me. I learned in order to be a better top manager I couldn't be around guys only like me. I wouldn't know my blind spots. I had to work with people who were very different. How you get the best out of people is to get them to be themselves within your organization. It was a shortcoming in me. When you get humbled you have to take stock of yourself and do some soul-searching. My cadence is fast. I talk fast, I act fast, and I leave people in my wake. People get burned out and disillusioned. People get to where I am because they are driven and have big egos. To be successful you have to have a team to do it with you."

Q: The biggest surprise?

A: "The level of commitment from the cities. Those guys are really engaged on this project and that's a good thing."

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First light-rail train to arrive in Valley next week

Sean Holstege

The Arizona Republic

Nov. 30, 2006 12:25 PM

The Valley's first light-rail train will arrive next week and will be assembled at a Phoenix maintenance yard, Metro chief Rick Simonetta said Thursday.

The first train was to be tested in New Jersey, but instead was loaded onto three flatbed trucks from the Baltimore harbor and bound for Arizona. Until recently, Metro didn't expect the first Japanese-manufactured trains to arrive until late January.

Simonetta also said that Metro's maintenance yard near Sky Harbor International Airport will be used to assemble the 50 light-rail vehicles. Japanese manufacturer Kinkishayro International had been eyeing properties in Flagstaff, Buckeye, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

The switch to Phoenix will save taxpayers an expected $1.5 million, Metro officials said. They say the assembly work could create around 30 mechanic jobs paying close to $20 per hour.

"This gets our arms around the rail cars. We know the vehicles aren't going to hold up the project," Metro's operations chief Joe Marie said.
 

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Light rail may come early to West Valley

Metro may move up timetable by 4 years

Sean Holstege

The Arizona Republic

Nov. 30, 2006 12:00 AM

Efforts are gathering steam to send light rail out to traffic-weary suburban commuters four years early.

Today, the Metro board will take steps that would allow an 11-mile extension west along Interstate 10 to open as early as 2015. It's a goal shared by Phoenix City Hall and many West Valley commuters.

The extension will not solve all the freeway's traffic congestion, partly because light rail would stop just east of Loop 101 and development west of there continues at a rapid pace.

But regional officials say it will ease the woes. Even a tiny reduction in cars on a freeway can greatly lessen congestion, traffic engineers say. Plus, I-10 rail plans are moving ahead in tandem with plans to widen the freeway.

The efforts represent the Valley's sometimes frantic attempts to keep up with growth as far-flung development outpaces the area's ability to build a transportation system.

The Metro board today is expected to seek federal study money for the first time and agree to launch that study in January rather than 2011.

That is possible because Phoenix has offered to jump-start the study with as much as $6 million in upfront money.

Among the options being examined: using buses or some kind of rail, and running transit down the I-10 median, along the freeway or through a nearby neighborhood.

"We'd like to have the I-10 extension opened today," said Ed Zuercher, chief of staff for Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. "We have the opportunity, because of our local tax (revenue), to push this one up."

The I-10 route isn't scheduled to open until 2019, after extensions open in Tempe, Mesa, north Phoenix toward Metrocenter mall and into downtown Glendale.

Metro officials insist they don't want to change that voter-mandated sequence, which would take a majority vote of all the cities in the region.

But the I-10 line is gaining prominence in city halls for three reasons: rapidly increasing traffic, state plans to widen the interstate and the opening of University of Phoenix Stadium and Westgate Center in Glendale.

Request for $13 million

In its request, Metro will ask the federal government for $13 million to study all extensions due to open before 2020 except one. Not listed was the proposed downtown Glendale line. Glendale's mayor and business leaders have said they would prefer that the rail go to Westgate Center.

Every year, I-10 traffic congestion worsens. In 2005, about 174,000 cars traveled I-10 past 83rd Avenue, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments. By 2009, the number will grow to 208,000. Traffic there will have increased 86 percent in a little more than a decade, the group says.

The three most popular destinations for I-10 commuters from west of Loop 101 are downtown Phoenix, uptown along Central Avenue and Sky Harbor International Airport, data from the county group shows. All destinations will be served by the light-rail system due to open in late 2008.

Trains in the freeway would attract commuters because stations would be spaced every two miles, allowing faster service than is possible on the denser 20-mile starter line.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Department of Transportation is planning to expand the clogged freeway and will launch its own study next summer! . The state reserved 50 feet in the median, enough for light rail. There is also reserved easement on the side of the interstate.

Between the I-10 and I-17 juncture and Loop 101, there is room for an extra lane and light rail, in addition to the existing HOV lane. Between Loops 101 and 303, there is room, money and current plans for adding two lanes and extending the HOV lane west.

Without disrupting those plans, light rail could extend farther west only if tracks take a flyover bridge to the side.

West of Loop 303, there are plans for only one extra freeway lane.

Avondale officials said the city is interested in anything that relieves I-10 congestion, including an unplanned rail extension beyond Loop 101.

The Maricopa Association of Governments says light rail would lose its effectiveness if it went too much farther, adding commuter rail on freight tracks is a better option for suburbs such as Buckeye.

Metro's study also is being prompted by ADOT's freeway widening plans.

"We have an opportunity to coordinate with ADOT on a project they need and we need," Metro Project Development Director Wulf Grote said.

A visit to Denver

Metro, ADOT and MAG recently visited Denver to see how its transit agency coordinated with Colorado's Department of Transportation to build the T-REX extension.

The $1.7 billion combo freeway expansion and new light-rail line opened earlier this month, nearly two years ahead of schedule. The joint effort saved $300 million.

Many of the stations in Denver were built to the side of the freeway. Grote's team recentl! y concluded that the center of I-10 would work better.

But real answers won't be known until after the two-year study. It will tell planners the best options for how and where to put transit.

Historically, such studies tend to reinforce the prevailing wisdom and conclude that connecting to light rail with a different form of transit creates an undesirable transfer.

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1st light rail car leaves Japan for N.J. testing

Sean Holstege

The Arizona Republic

Oct. 23, 2006 12:00 AM

The Valley's first light-rail train car, No. 101, is steaming for the Panama Canal, bound for New Jersey, having completed a battery of successful tests in Osaka, Japan.

"This is a wonderful machine," said Metro's operations chief, Joe Marie, who checked out the first train on a tour last month of the Kinkisharyo International factory. He described the inspection as one of the best he's participated in during a lengthy transit career.

"We are satisfied as a team we got a good product," he said.

Train car 101 departed the port of Kobe, Japan, on Sept. 30. It's expected to arrive in Baltimore on Nov. 2 and from there be trucked to Newark for further tests beginning in mid-November.

Key among the tests is checking whether the train accelerates and brakes smoothly. Then it will be sent to Arizona for final assembly and testing on Phoenix streets.

The other train that's been completed, car 102, has passed a two-month test inside a climate chamber, where temperatures were pushed to 127 degrees Fahrenheit. That train is expected to be the first to arrive in Phoenix, in late January or early February, Marie said.

Metro is buying 50 rail cars for $159 million. On Wednesday, Metro's governing board authorized Marie to enter into a five-year, $27 million contract with Pittsburgh-based Kinkisharyo, a subsidiary of a Japanese firm, to maintain the trains. The firm beat out three competitors on the basis of qualifications, Marie said, and its price was about $800,000 under the official estimate.

The first light rail train is scheduled to begin service in December 2008.

To view the light rail testing click here:

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Scientists: Ozone Hole Size Sets Record

Associated Press
Oct 19, 8:19 PM EDT

WASHINGTON - This year's Antarctic ozone hole is the biggest ever, government scientists said Thursday. The so-called hole is a region where there is severe depletion of the layer of ozone - a form of oxygen - in the upper atmosphere that protects life on Earth by blocking the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Scientists say human-produced gases such as bromine and chlorine damage the layer, causing the hole. That's why many compounds such as spray-can propellants have been banned in recent years.

"From Sept. 21 to 30, the average area of the ozone hole was the largest ever observed, at 10.6 million square miles," said Paul Newman, atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. That's larger than the area of North America.

In addition, satellite measurements observed a low reading of 85 Dobson units of ozone on Oct. 8. That's down from a thickness of 300 Dobson units in July.

The ozone hole is considered to be the area with total column ozone below 220 Dobson Units. A reading of 100 Dobson Units means that if all the ozone in the air above a point were brought down to sea-level pressure and cooled to freezing it would form a layer 1 centimeter thick. A reading of 250 Dobson Units translates to a layer about an inch thick.

In a critical layer of air between eight and 13 miles above the surface, the measurement was only 1.2 Dobson unit, down from 125 in July.

"These numbers mean the ozone is virtually gone in this layer of the atmosphere," said David Hofmann, director of the Global Monitoring Division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory. "The depleted layer has an unusual vertical extent this year, so it appears that the 2006 ozone hole will go down as a record-setter."

The size and thickness of the ozone hole varies from year to year, becoming larger when temperatures are lower.

Because of international agreements banning ozone-depleting substances, researchers calculated that these chemicals peaked in Antarctica in 2001 and have been declining. However, many of them have extremely long lifetimes once released into the air.

While there are year-to-year variations, scientists expect a slow recovery of the ozone layer by the year 2065, anticipating declines in the use of damaging chemicals.

This article is found at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OZONE_HOLE?SITE=INELK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic                        

Valley likely to get winter of bad air

This season could be as polluted as last, one of worst on record

Corinne Purtill
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 18, 2006 12:00 AM

Last winter's air quality was some of the worst in recent memory, an ugly, wheeze-inducing soup that shattered pollution records and threatened people's health.

This year could be just as bad.

Forecasters say the same dry, stagnant conditions that contributed to last year's mess are possible. And tighter pollution-control standards that Maricopa County is developing won't yet be in place.

And that means children, the elderly and people with breathing problems likely will have to spend another winter watching for pollution warnings and limiting their time outdoors.

"There's no reason to think this winter would necessarily be in stark contrast to previous winters," said Cortland Coleman, communications director for the state Department of Environmental Quality. "It's not like we're going to see particulate levels drop."

It's too early to say with complete certainty what this winter's air conditions will be.

Forecasters this month were predicting below-normal rainfall. However, a developing El Niño could change that, said meteorologist Tony Haffer, who runs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast office in Phoenix.

Rain mixes with the atmosphere and dilutes pollution. Dry conditions, such as the 143 days the Valley went without rain last winter, allow dirty air to accumulate.

But even if El Niño does bring rain, it won't entirely sweep away the Valley's air pollution.

"We will have days with the brown cloud, for sure," Haffer said.

The brown cloud

Failing standards

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Public transit woos Valley's commuters

Popularity could strengthen case for light rail, some say

Sean Holstege
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 20, 2006 12:00 AM

It's 6:45 a.m. in Ahwatukee and the commute is in full swing.

In a steady stream, solo drivers pull into a parking lot on Pecos Road, get out and line up to board one of the I-10 Rapid buses.

If it's standing room only, some wait 10 minutes for the next bus, just to get a plush recliner so they can settle back with a book or an iPod on the way to downtown Phoenix.

"Now, if you're not on the bus by 7 a.m., you can count on standing," said Toni Brouillard, a 50-year-old east Chandler resident who works as an executive assistant at JPMorgan.

Increasingly, this scene plays out every day in park-and-ride lots throughout the Valley.

Over the past two fiscal years, the number of riders on the region's commuter buses has jumped 57 percent. While the raw numbers were still small, an average 5,213 per weekday, the surge outpaced a healthy 11 percent jump in overall bus ridership. This year, ridership on Rapid and Express buses is on pace to grow an additional 14 percent.

The reasons are varied, from gas prices to expanded service. But if the trend holds, transit officials say, it signals transit is beginning to woo its hardest fans, those higher-income suburbanites who are joined to their cars at the hip. It also could build support for bus and light-rail expansions.

No one is saying yet that the Valley has arrived as a big-league bus and rail town, like Los Angeles or Atlanta. But the signs of a deepening buy-in by the public are more pronounced.

"Commuters want this kind of service. They're sick of congestion and sick of unpredictability," said David Schwartz, executive director of Friends of Transit. "The biggest complaint I hear is: 'I live in - pick a community - when are we going to get it?' "

Until recently, buses have historically been the domain of the working poor. In the Valley, the heaviest ridership occurs in dense central urban neighborhoods where three homes in 10 have no car.

According to a 2001 Valley Metro study, the average annual income of people who rode local buses was $26,000, compared with $49,600 for express riders.

'Choice' riders

Lower-income riders will remain the system's anchor. They need and demand transit more. But to put a greater dent in reducing traffic and smog, transit officials also want to attract "choice riders," those who choose how to commute. That means running service, by bus or light-rail, into middle-class suburbs.

Valley Metro, or the Regional Public Transportation Authority, now runs 19 Rapid and Express routes.

In coming years, the commuter routes will expand dramatically.

Last month, RPTA got its first check from Proposition 400, which was approved two years ago and will inject $3 billion into expanding and improving bus service over the next 20 years.

The first of those changes will occur this summer, when a new rural bus route to Wickenburg begins and 62 new buses arrive, most to replace aging vehicles.

Over the next two decades, RPTA will bring in 2,100 new buses and add as many as 31 express routes. It will also improve service on as many as 34 local streets where buses cross city lines. The RPTA board authorized last week spending $630,000 to move ahead with half a dozen studies to plan long-term bus service.

The first big boost in Rapid service comes in 2008, when six new routes begin. Next year, RPTA adds a single Rapid route to serve the north Route 101 loop.

"Prop. 400 allows us to go much further. We have an opportunity we haven't had in years, if ever. The sky's the limit," RPTA Executive Director David Boggs said.

Commuters choose the bus over their cars for a variety of reasons: time, money, employer discounts or peace of mind.

Laura Webb, who lives in Ahwatukee, began taking the I-10 line two years ago after she learned about it from word of mouth. The 46-year-old rides the Rapid to her job near the state Capitol, where she's a project specialist at the Department of Corrections. She first noticed people standing in the aisles about six months ago.
 

'Always on time'

"The buses have a good reputation. They're always on time - always," Webb said. "They're comfortable, the air-conditioner works, and they give me a chance to catch (up) on my reading. And I don't have to put miles on my car."

The Ahwatukee park-and-ride lot fills quickly with all manner of cars, including a Jaguar or two along with the Hondas and family vans.

Perhaps the biggest boost to commuter buses has been gas prices.

"People who rode the bus in September when gas was $3 a gallon stayed with it," said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association. "In city after city after city, it's a pattern we're seeing. None of us knows if this is the start of a brand-new trend or another spike."

The Valley's rapid growth on the fringes also has fueled demand.

In recent months, officials from Anthem to Avondale to Pinal County have clamored for express lines. When the city of Surprise last fall asked for one ahead of schedule, Boggs, the RPTA director, worked out a deal with an out-of-state transit agency to get used vehicles fast. Within two months, Valley Metro had a bus on Grand Avenue, paid for by city money.

The household budget, with help from employers, also is driving demand.

A single Rapid or Express fare costs $1.75, 50 cents more than a local ride, or $51 for a monthly pass.

Brouillard, the east Chandler commuter, gets half off her monthly pass because her employer, JPMorgan, picks up the other half as part of a regional trip-reduction program to discourage solo drivers.

She saves about $1,900 in gas and parking, plus an additional $950 from wear and tear each year.

But that's not the biggest selling point. "I'll do anything to get in that HOV lane," Brouillard said.

By car, her 25-mile trip would take an hour, door to door. By bus, it's 45 minutes, including the drive to the park-and-ride lot.
 

Drawbacks
 

Commuters still face many obstacles in making the bus system work for them.

Geoff Goodrich, 45, of northwest Phoenix, used to ride the 582 Express every day, going from the Metrocenter Mall to the Phoenix Art Museum, where he works as security chief.

But his work schedule changed. On weekends and later in the evening, he can't count on a bus. So, he rides it two or three days a week.

It's similar on other routes.

The last run of the evening for the Scottsdale Express, Route 512, leaves downtown Phoenix at 4:54 p.m. Because of traffic and distance, it doesn't reach the last stop at Palisades Boulevard until 6:23 p.m.

The Mesa Express, Route 540, pulls out of the Decatur Street stop at 4:50 a.m. but reaches downtown Phoenix until an "estimated" 5:40 a.m., according to the bus book, which advises passengers not to count on the schedule to make transfers.

Despite the limits, more commuters are giving it a try.

Goodrich said gas prices drove him to the bus at first, but after he began enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the paper on the way, he liked it.

"Even if it doesn't save me money, I'd still ride the bus just for the relaxation," he said. "Going home, there's not that hide-in-the-closet detox time after work. I do that on the bus."

Contact the reporter at (602) 444-8334 or sean.holstege@arizonarepublic.com

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Cleaner air on the way? Don't hold your breath

Ozone is up next as record pollution season winds down

Matthew Benson
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 8, 2006 12:00 AM

Stagnant, dry weather conditions that helped cause the Valley's worst wintertime air pollution in memory could now give rise to a new worry: ozone.

"It may be that we simply go from one high-pollution season to another," said Steve Owens, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. "We're keeping our fingers crossed."

Winter doldrums and a stubborn air inversion helped trap particles of smoke and dust over the Phoenix area since fall. It was a season to remember: The Valley violated federal standards for coarse-particulate pollution 47 times on 29 days since early October.

Violations occurred on just 19 days during the previous five years combined.

But the onset of higher temperatures now is loosening the inversion, allowing the particulates to escape and dissipate.

The Valley hasn't exceeded federal air standards since Feb. 17. Coming off a winter like this, that's cause for celebration. But a deep breath?

Hold that thought.

Although pollution officials aren't offering predictions, and particulates and ozone are caused by different factors, a continuation of this winter's weather pattern doesn't bode well for summer air quality. Several factors are troubling:

•  Owens said his office has been warned to expect hotter-than-usual conditions in the months ahead. High temperatures help grease the chemical reaction that forms ozone.

•  Continued drought and calm conditions would offer little to keep a stew of ozone from forming and settling over the Valley.

"The same conditions (from this winter) would certainly lend themselves to ozone problems," said Bob Pallarino, air-monitoring specialist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "We could certainly see a tough year."

Ozone exists naturally in the upper atmosphere, helping shield against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. But ozone that forms near the ground is an invisible, odorless irritant that causes stinging eyes, coughing and can aggravate respiratory disease.

Long-term exposure stiffens lung tissue in the same manner that repeated sunburn leads to leathery, wrinkled skin.

Ozone season typically begins in early April as temperatures climb and peaks during the heat of summer in July and August.

Tailpipe emissions are the biggest culprit for ozone, which forms through a chemical reaction as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds are released into the air. Add sunlight and heat and: Voila!

On a typical day, ozone forms over the metro area and drifts toward the northeast Valley through the day until it peaks in late afternoon.

This winter's violations of the federal particulates standard were registered at seven locations throughout the Valley, with all but five at sensors just west of downtown Phoenix. But no area was immune, depending on the winds and weather patterns that blew pollution from place to place.

Local officials say the sheer number of violations make it exceedingly unlikely the EPA will give the metro area a clean rating for pollution from coarse particulates when the agency's three-year assessment comes to a close at the end of this year.

Ozone has traditionally been an even bigger headache, Owens said. The Valley falls short of federal guidelines for long-term ozone and exceeded the EPA's standard on 13 days last summer. Known as eight-hour ozone, the score averages readings from eight one-hour increments during the day.

The Valley does better with short-term, or one-hour ozone, which measure's the peak reading from the day. The Valley came into federal compliance for one-hour ozone in 2005.

Ozone has been an air pollution success story for Phoenix in recent years.

The Valley "has improved dramatically," Pallarino said, especially in light of the heavy growth. The implementation of cleaner-burning summertime gasoline and emissions checks for vehicles have improved ozone figures even as more cars and trucks are clogging roadways.

But the metropolitan area will likely continue struggling with its air quality as thousands of new residents move to the Valley each month.

"As the population grows in the Valley . . . we get a buildup of pollutants," said Bob Kard, director of Maricopa County's Air Quality Department. "It's going to be a constant battle to keep us from violating federal ozone standards."

Owens agreed. Although freakish weather conditions have been at the heart of the Valley's air problems in recent months, he said, it offers a lens on future woes if pollution sources aren't confronted.

"It's rapid growth, large-scale construction activities all over the Valley, more and more people driving cars further," Owens said. "I see (this winter's pollution) as an abnormal situation that's something we need to prepare for in the future. We may well experience similar circumstances in future years."

Reach the reporter at (602) 444-4947.

Article taken from www.azcentral.com

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In Phoenix, Even Cactuses Wilt in Clutches of Record Drought

Mark Peterman for The New York Times

A drought in Phoenix has left pollutants in the air. Dust storms only add to the area's pollution concerns.

By MICHAEL WILSON

Published: March 10, 2006

PHOENIX, March 9 — Thursday began like the 141 days before it, sunny and crisp, dust settling everywhere except on the record — set again — for the number of days without rain.

Phoenix knows all about dry weather. It is a place where children are drilled throughout elementary school to conserve water, where hotels boast of covered parking areas not to protect from rain, but to offer a bit of shade. Grown men spread lotion all over their bodies every morning. Noses bleed. Newcomers watch in horror as their hands seem to age right in front of them.

But even the desert suffers droughts, and this winter has brought a strong one, the fickle air currents pushing approaching storm clouds to the east. Until this year, the record for days without recorded rainfall was set in 2000, a measly 101 days. The recording instrument for rainfall is at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, referred to as "the bucket" by meteorologists, and drier than a Sunday morning during Prohibition.

"People are sort of losing their grip," said Gary Woodard, who, as associate director of the University of Arizona Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas, is an expert on the region's water. " 'Did you hear it's going to rain tomorrow?' Well, actually, there's an 80 percent chance it's not going to rain. People are getting very excited about very slim chances of rain."

The drought has wreaked havoc on wildlife, which depend on the scant seven inches of rain that Phoenix gets in an average year, most of it in the three or four winter months.

"We have cactus dying from lack of water," Mr. Woodard said. "We have well-established mesquite trees that are in a lot of trouble."

Small animals are too dried out to do what comes naturally.

"None of the animals, none of the birds are having offspring this spring. No baby quail, no baby bunnies," Mr. Woodard said.

An alarming result of the drought is the condition of the air. On Thursday, Arizona's Department of Environmental Quality posted its 25th pollution advisory of the winter, a remarkable number. Last winter — the opposite of this one, with abundant rainfall — there were no such days. There is no rain to knock the dust and particles out of the air and wash them away.

"We've just had this large, dry, stagnant air mass hanging over the area since November," said Steve Owens, director of the environmental agency. "It used to be, you'd come to Arizona if you had breathing problems because of the air quality. Now, I think you'd have physicians who would say, 'Don't come to Arizona.' "

The drought seems to promise a harsh fire season. Last year, relatively heavy rains fell all winter, prompting fast growth in trees and shrubs that now sit dry and cracked. "I don't think I could have planned a better fire season," said Tom Pagano, a forecaster with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service. "A lot of people in that business are quite worried."

The drought has not hurt the skin-care industry.

"You have to use lotion right when you're out of the shower, when your skin is still moist," said Mary Low, services manager at Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. "People wear sandals, so the skin on the heels of your feet get exposed to the dry air. The skin on the feet gets dry and cracked. You have to use a pumice stone and put lotion on your feet."

Another high-end refuge, Spa du Soleil in suburban Scottsdale, uses "medical grade oxygen" to infuse 87 vitamins straight into a customer's face, said the spa's director, Irene Kelly. "It really does keep your skin nice and smooth and plump and supple and hydrated," Ms. Kelly said.

Tourists love the sunshine and high temperatures in the 60's and 70's. Local residents shrug, and click on the humidifier at night.

"You get used to it, and pray every day that it rains," said Justin Hoiby, 27, an event planner overseeing a Western-themed company picnic — Pennsylvania executives racing in little covered wagons — in Scottsdale. It was Wednesday, and to the north, a huge, fat, gray-black rain cloud hung over the mountains, like a blimp over a sold-out stadium.

"I think it's going to stay to the north," Mr. Hoiby said, as the executives competed in a Wild West Olympics. "I've been watching it."

And yet, closer it came, the cloud blocking the sun and kicking up a little dust, irritating some tourists like Mary Green, 67, visiting from Chicago. "Nice for them," she said, looking over her shoulder at the grayness. "Not nice for a visitor who wants sunshine. It's not going to last, that's the nice thing."

But did it ever arrive? A few raindrops hit a forehead and a windshield. A nearby gas station attendant, Robert Roe, saw it: "It came down pretty good for about two seconds."

Jeff Grenfell, 41, a sommelier and chef, was hiking at the time. "I got a few drops," he said later.

Rain!

Not quite. None hit the bucket at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. The dry streak did not end, and a record-setting 142nd day continued, with no precipitation in the 24-hour forecast.

The record number of days in Phoenix with nothing more than trace amounts of rain (defined as less than 1/100th of an inch, but more than a drop on the forehead) is 160.

Whether that record will be broken in 19 days is unclear. Forecasters are calling for a relatively high chance — 50 percent — of rain this weekend.

Taken from www.nytimes.com.

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