The city of Phoenix received $10 million in federal funding to establish an equitable “Cultural Corridor” near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
The city announced the funding over the weekend, which originated from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. The $10 million came from $1.5 billion in a discretionary fund through the RAISE program opened up in December.
With these recent RAISE funds, the city of Phoenix will develop vacant lots west of the airport. In a press release, the city identified neighborhood stability, identity creation, and economic expansion as their primary goals.
Although the $10 million came this month, final drafting for the Cultural Corridor was published in April 2020. According to these draft plans, the corridor will serve as a multicultural heritage trail navigable via public transit.
Seven individuals were proposed as those to be featured on the trail: Father Albert Braun, Cesar Chavez, Sister Mary Luca Junk, Silvestre Herrera, Wing Ong, Calvin & Georgie Goode, and John Lewis. Each individual will receive their own themed “zone” within the Cultural Corridor: the Goode-Luca-Ong Community Champion Zone, the Silvestre Herrera Heroism Zone, the Cesar Chavez Labor & Civil Rights Zone, the Father Albert Braun O.F.M. & Medallion of Honor Zone, and the Anne Ott Education Zone.
Additionally, seven landmarks were selected: Historic Sacred Heart Church, Santa Rita Center, Ann Ott School, Silvestre Herrera School, Tanner Church and other churches in the area, Austin Market, and neighborhood parks.
The draft plan also identified 65 properties that were either currently listed as or eligible to be enlisted as historic at the national or local level.
The final draft for the corridor also identified seven areas as historic neighborhoods: the Eastlake Park Neighborhood, El Campito Barrio, Golden Gate Barrio, Cuatro Milpas Barrio, Ann Ott Neighborhood, Green Valley Neighborhood, and Rio Salado San Juan Bautista Neighborhood.
This is the latest round of federal funding for the project. The city received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant for its implementation phase from 2017 to 2019.
Mayor Kate Gallego said in the weekend press release that the grant would issue warranted recognition to communities surrounding the airport.
“This grant will enable us to honor the legacies, histories, and identities of existing communities while also improving safety and mobility in the region,” said Gallego.
The Cultural Corridor arose from the airport’s Land Reuse Strategy that first began in early 2016. Developments on the vacant land include a workforce training center, mixed-use residential properties, commercial lots abutting mixed-use office spaces, and a public park adjacent to a commercial recreation facility. The Cultural Corridor would run from the light rail terminal near East Washington and South 7th streets, down South 16th Street, along East Buckeye Road, along East Pima Street, and southbound past the I-17 until it hits the Rio Salado River.
Several private developments will be established near the light rail terminal where the Cultural Corridor begins: apartments, mixed-use residential, condominiums, commercial spaces, and a hotel.
RAISE grants aren’t the only source of DOT funding for infrastructure. In March, Tucson received another $900,000 from the DOT’s Reconnecting Communities Program to build another biking and pedestrian bridge, covering about 56 percent of the total project cost of $1.6 million. They were approved while 10 other Arizona cities, counties, and one nonprofit were denied funding. The DOT revealed that it prioritized projects engaged in equity and environmental justice work.
The debut of the Biden administration’s RAISE grants saw one award in Arizona: over $10.6 million to the city of Yuma to convert a historic building into a multimodal public transit center. Project costs totaled over $17.7 million.
RAISE is a continuation of its predecessors dating back to 2009, former President Obama’s first year in office: formerly Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) and initially Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER). Through 2022, all three programs have issued over $12.1 billion in grants for 934 projects, 18 of which were Arizona-based projects. RAISE alone has issued over $3.2 billion in grants to 255 projects since launching in 2021.
Last year, the RAISE program gave over $75 million to four projects in Arizona: $261,000 to Navajo County for a regional multimodal planning study of 16 miles of pedestrian and bicycle pathway (total project cost: $290,000); $25 million to Phoenix to build a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Rio Salado River (total project cost: $34.5 million); $25 million to Tucson to rebuild a bridge less than a mile in length, expand a street from four to six lanes, and build a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge (total project cost: $95.4 million); and nearly $25 million to the Colorado Indian River Tribes to reconstruct 10 miles of road.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix may create a new court to handle the crimes committed by the homeless. The new specialty court, the Phoenix Community Court, would cost well over $2 million to operate annually, with a $46,000 start-up cost.
Phoenix has three other specialty courts, one of which addresses crimes committed by the homeless on a county-wide basis: the Maricopa County Regional Homeless Court (MCRHC). The other two courts address crimes committed by veterans and the mentally ill, respectively.
The Phoenix City Council approved the court’s creation during last week’s Public Safety and Justice meeting. The council report noted that most homeless individuals were being cited or arrested on minor charges in the traditional criminal justice system, which the council said didn’t afford enough opportunities for services to address their needs.
The new court would take in all crimes except domestic violence offenses and assault.
At this stage in the policymaking process, the city is deciding between several entry methods for admitting eligible homeless criminals into the Phoenix Community Court.
The first method would be identification during arraignment prompted by a Phoenix Police Department citation or prosecutor’s office complaint. The second method would be through police booking an eligible individual into jail, followed by the Office of Homeless Solutions offering the individual resources as they determine eligibility for the new court.
The new court would have a Community Court Team craft a customized service plan for eligible criminals. Such a plan would include specific milestones to track progress, with regular court appearances. A criminal’s successful completion of the plan would result in either dismissal of the case, a reduced charge, or a suspended sentence.
“The Phoenix Community Court will be centered around a holistic and compassionate approach to provide long-term solutions that will positively impact individuals currently experiencing homelessness, and benefit the entire community,” stated the city plan.
To start, the new court would hire 11 full-time positions across several city departments and 10 contracted navigators. The 11 city employees would cost over $1.4 million annually, while the 10 navigators would cost $620,000 annually. Rapid response funding, which concerns staff efforts to expedite housing placement or other similar initiatives, would cost $150,000 annually. Administrative costs would total $25,000.
The 11 full-time positions include an assistant attorney, legal assistant, and casework services coordinator for the public defender’s office; two attorneys, a court or legal clerk, legal assistant, and administrative assistant in the prosecutor’s office; two bailiffs in the municipal court; and a program manager in the Office of Homeless Solutions.
The 10 contracted navigators would break down as follows: one managing the entire navigation team, two focusing on working with individuals identified in regular court proceedings, three engaging throughout the community at the early stages of the court process, and four assisting individuals entering through the jail court.
The one-time start-up costs for the new court would consist of $30,000 for three vehicles, and $15,000 for “other equipment.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Uber will give passengers a 40 percent discount for using electric or hybrid cars rather than gas cars.
The discount announced earlier this month is available for passengers traveling to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which established a “Green Curb” for the initiative. Electric or hybrid cars will be marked as “Uber Green” or, for the more expensive ride types, “Uber Comfort Electric.” The discount applies to the latter.
In a press release, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego praised the airport as a leader in sustainability. Gallego further expressed gratitude that Uber had chosen the city to lead on their initiative.
“Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a leader in sustainability, and this new partnership is another example of how our airport remains on the cutting edge of every aspect of the passenger experience,” said Gallego. “I’m proud that Uber has chosen to bring this first-of-its kind initiative to Phoenix, and I look forward to supporting this innovative partnership!”
Another star of Super Bowl week was @PHXSkyHarbor, where fans got their first impression of Phoenix. Not only is Sky Harbor America’s friendliest airport — it may as well be dubbed the world’s most innovative. #FutureIsPHXhttps://t.co/Vy1RZaoXIY
Joining Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in establishing a “Green Curb” is the Portland International Airport in Oregon, the London Heathrow Airport in England, and the Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain.
However, other airport locations won’t offer as steep of discounts as the one given in Phoenix. At London Heathrow Airport, the discount only amounts to 10 percent.
This latest initiative by Uber is part of the corporation’s plan to achieve zero emissions by 2040, and to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste from deliveries by 2030. In addition to the discounted fare for electric travel, Uber will inform riders of their emissions usage, establish a carsharing network, expanding rentable bikes, establishing electric car charge accessibility, and advising UberEats customers of green packaging options.
Sustainability may also be taking the form of driverless cars: last month, Uber announced that it had teamed up with artificial intelligence ridership service Waymo. The initiative will begin in Phoenix, where driverless cars and freight transport have been tested in recent years.
Waymo debuted driverless vehicles in downtown Phoenix last August.
The coordinated effort between the city of Phoenix and corporations like Uber to increase electric car usage is similarly playing out at the state and national levels. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has begun developing a statewide network of electric vehicle charging stations, using seed funding from the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.
Arizona will receive $76.5 million from the federal government over the next five years to establish electric vehicle charging stations along roads designated as alternative fuel corridors (AFCs). Arizona’s current and proposed AFCs according to its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan follow all the major interstate highways running through the state.
The Federal Highway Administration approved Arizona’s plan last September. Each charging station will be located within one mile off of the designated highway, with at least four EV fast chargers. A full charge takes the average EV about 20-30 minutes. Each charging station — except for two — will be placed 50 miles apart. ADOT funding won’t be used to construct or maintain the charging stations. These charging stations will be privately owned. The private owners will put up 20 percent of the costs to construct the stations, with the federal government paying 80 percent.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A Republican State Senator is outraged after the Democrat Attorney General issued a recent response to a legislative inquiry about prevailing wage ordinances.
On Thursday, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes answered a 1487 complaint from Senator Catherine Miranda, who had previously asked if “a city may enact a prevailing wage ordinance that requires contractors on municipal public works contracts to pay their workers no less than the wage rates that prevail for their trade in their geographic location.”
Mayes affirmed that “a city may regulate the minimum wages paid within its geographic boundaries under Arizona Revised Statutes $ 23-364(1), so long as those wages are not less than the statewide minimum wage.” The attorney general added that “this authority includes the ability to require that employees of contractors on local public works projects be paid not less than the prevailing wage.”
This reply from Attorney General Mayes attracted the attention of one Republican lawmaker in particular, Senator T.J. Shope. The legislator took to Twitter to express his displeasure with the state’s top cop, writing, “This is a completely outside of the law interpretation by Attorney General Kris Mayes. If this were legal, why have the unions run bills at the Legislature every year to make prevailing wage legal, including a bill I once ran? I don’t have a problem with cities entering in to contracts with labor per se but do it the right way AND legally. My hope is a lawsuit will be filed immediately to challenge this ILLEGAL opinion by the AG. The AG should have run for Legislature if she wanted to enact law.”
This is a completely outside of the law interpretation by @AZAGMayes@krismayes. If this were legal, why have the unions run bills at the Legislature every year to make prevailing wage legal, including a bill I once ran? I don’t have a problem with cities entering in to contracts… https://t.co/00ZMwDX3d5
Senator Shope may have been upset with Mayes’ opinion, but others around the state were not. Phoenix Councilwoman Laura Pastor tweeted, “Labor workers deserve to be compensated for their work. For years, I have consistently supported and pushed for prevailing wage – and I will continue to do so.”
ICYMI: AZ Attorney General @krismayes just released her opinion on Arizona cities enacting a prevailing wage ordinance.
Labor workers deserve to be compensated for their work. For years, I have consistently supported and pushed for prevailing wage — and I will continue to do so. pic.twitter.com/4CTaPf9qiv
— Councilwoman Laura Pastor (@PHXDistrict4) June 15, 2023
Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari wrote, “Attorney General Mayes’ opinion is clear: cities may enact a prevailing wage ordinance to ensure that workers are paid fairly and competitively. I look forward to voting YES (again) for a strong Phoenix policy by the end of this year.”
.@AZAGMayes’s opinion is clear: cities may enact a prevailing wage ordinance to ensure that workers are paid fairly and competitively.
I look forward to voting YES (again) for a strong Phoenix policy by the end of this year. pic.twitter.com/gngXvxdn33
— Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari (@District7PHX) June 15, 2023
Ansari’s comment was referencing a back-and-forth saga over a prevailing wage ordinance in the City of Phoenix earlier this year. In March, five members of the City’s Council voted to approve the Prevailing Wage Ordinance for City Projects to “ensure that (Phoenix’s) development growth is match with the skilled labor (the city) urgently needs when (Phoenix) invests in the growth of (its) communities.”
This action from Phoenix led to the threat of litigation from the Goldwater Institute, which sent an April letter to the Phoenix City Council to “express serious concerns” about the passage of the Ordinance, warning that if “the enacted version of the ordinance regulates matters that are expressly pre-empted by state law, it exposes the City to a high risk of litigation.” After the first Phoenix Council vote, there was a change in two seats, leading to another vote by the Council to repeal the Ordinance.
Mayor Kate Gallego was among the votes to repeal the Ordinance. She stated at the time, “I believe in doing things the right way, not the fast way, and that’s what we decided to do today. I am optimistic that we will find a path forward for better pay for construction workers while, at the same time, put sound policy on the books that survives legal challenges.”
Workers deserve a living wage—and we can deliver that through a robust, public process that doesn’t put the city in legal and financial jeopardy. That’s why I voted with a majority of Council to direct city staff to find legally viable ways to increase wages on city projects.
Senator Miranda, the author of the 1487 complaint that generated Mayes’ opinion, seemed to have officials like Gallego in mind when she posted, “No hiding behind the fact it might be illegal. It’s not. Kris Mayes has spoken, “If two conflicting statutes cannot operate contemporaneously the more recent specific statute governs over [an] older more general statute.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego heeded the call of Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, urging for the addition of a public railroad to the city.
Gallego said that the railroad, or passenger railway, would make long-distance travel easier for both locals and visitors.
“An @Amtrak connection in Phoenix would make long-distance travel easier for Phoenicians and bring more visitors. Let’s get it done!” said Gallego.
An @Amtrak connection in Phoenix would make long-distance travel easier for Phoenicians and bring more visitors. Let’s get it done! https://t.co/2NYqU7AuTN
The renewed calls for a public railway came after Gardner singled out Phoenix in recent public comments on his company’s intent to expand nationally. Gardner said it was an “embarrassment” that Phoenix doesn’t have his passenger railway company.
“(It is) frankly an embarrassment that we don’t serve such a major, prominent city,” said Gardner.
Amtrak applied for $716 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to launch 16 projects nationwide, including Phoenix. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) submitted a proposal to the federal Corridor Identification and Development Program (Corridor ID Program) to assist in the expansion. Additionally, ADOT provided $3.5 million.
Another proponent of the Amtrak expansion into Arizona, Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), claimed that passenger railway would reduce the number of cars and therefore result in significant emissions reductions.
In a press release, Stanton also claimed that a public railway would provide an economic boost for the state.
“[It’s an] opportunity to connect our communities, make them more accessible and productive, and more internationally competitive,” said Stanton. “Opportunity to boost our regional economies with better access to jobs and more private investment along the route. Opportunity to ease congestion along Interstate 10 and help reduce air pollution.”
Likewise, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said Phoenix needed to join the other major cities in the country served by Amtrak.
“Phoenix is the largest city in the country not served by Amtrak, but thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re working to fix that,” said Kelly. “This support for the Return to Phoenix Project will finally bring together Arizona communities, the railroads, and Amtrak to develop a comprehensive plan to connect Phoenix and Tucson with passenger rail and connect Phoenix to Amtrak’s nationwide network.”
Public railway, like other forms of public transit, suffers from high crime rates. According to Amtrak police, there were around 6,000 incidents and over 456,400 calls for police assistance in 2021. That’s based on the latest National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from the FBI.
That’s compared to about 5,000 incidents and 412,000 calls in 2020; around 6,700 incidents and 419,700 calls in 2019; around 6,100 incidents and 254,700 calls in 2018.
Amtrak has 30 routes consisting of 500 stops along 46 states. Based on their latest crime data report (2021), that’s about 12 incidents and 912 calls to Amtrak police at each stop annually.
In a press release on Monday, Amtrak explained that their applications were submitted through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): the Corridor ID Program and the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program. The essential goal of the programs is to establish a comprehensive national passenger rail network.