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This weekend along the light rail in Phoenix

Tony Arranaga — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:43:58 +0000

Looking for to get out of the house this weekend? Take the light-rail or your bike to one of these events in downtown Phoenix.

Arizona Asian Festival Heritage Park (3rd Street and Washington light rail station)

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Pittsburgh Pirates Chase Field (3rd Street and Jefferson light rail station)

Outrigger Regatta Tempe Town Lake (Mill Avenue light rail station)

Phoenix Fringe Festival (various locations)

Information on how to ride the light rail can be found here.

Urban spaces along the METRO light rail

Tony Arranaga — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:57:06 +0000

This is a continuing series on open spaces along the METRO light rail in Phoenix. I’m documenting the locations here on the blog and encouraging comments from readers as to what they would like to see in these structures. All of them are located in the heart of the city and within walking distance of the light rail. Whether it’s a restaurant, retail space or maybe a place for creatives to come and work – these open spaces could use entrepreneurs who are passionate about downtown Phoenix.

Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the historic Westward Ho hotel (618 N Central Avenue, near Central station). In its heyday, the building was an economic engine for the area. The hotel fell on hard times and is now a home for low income senior citizens. The common areas on the ground floor are stunning – beautiful, ornate detail in the architecture and design give the visitor a glimpse of what times were like back when crews first built the structure in 1928. Standing 208 feet, the building was the tallest in the state, a title held for almost four decades (source).

The ground floor has two fairly large open spaces, both of which look out to Central Avenue. I hear a restaurant owner is considering one of the spaces for a brewery – a good idea since the building is a short walk from two light rail stations. What would you like to see here? What do you think would be a good fit in this part of town? Be sure to post your comment below.

This blog post is part of a 30 day blogging challenge (#30daybc) with friends Irene, Seth and Ryan. Please take a moment to check out their blogs. Thank you!

Phoenix light rail fare information

Tony Arranaga — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:30:20 +0000

How much does it cost to ride the METRO light rail? A single ride on the light rail or bus is $1.75 and a roundtrip fare is $3.50 when you purchase your ticket at a station kiosk. Instead of driving downtown to a game or event, you can also save money by parking at one of the eight park-and-rides along the line (here). For information on fare passes, click here.

Urban spaces along the METRO light rail

Tony Arranaga — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:14:55 +0000

This is a continuing series on open spaces along the METRO light rail in Phoenix. I’m documenting the locations here on the blog and encouraging comments from readers as to what they would like to see in these open spaces. Whether it’s a restaurant, retail or maybe a place for creatives to come and work – all these open spaces need are some people who are passionate about downtown Phoenix. I went to visit One Lexington (Osborn and Central light rail station) last night during a RadiatePHX event. One Lexington is a mid-rise condo tower with retail available on the ground floor. According to the developer, his company is looking for locally owned restaurants to move in – maybe a coffee bar or restaurant. Sounds good to me! What would you like to see on the ground floor of One Lexington? Read about the property here, here and here.

This post is part of a 30 day blogging challenge (#30daybc) with friends Irene, Seth and Ryan. Please take a second and check out their blogs as well. Thanks!

Valley Bike Month

Tony Arranaga — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:13:27 +0000

Valley Metro kicks off Valley Bike Month this week, a month long campaign aimed at encouraging more people to use bikes as an alternative mode of transportation or exercise. Valley Metro is also promoting a bike and pedestrian safety campaign called Be Bright. As many of you know, this blog has helped me to become more aware of the bike culture here in Phoenix and how to use bikes to along with the light rail or bus to extend your clean-air commute. I’ve learned that bike riding is a great way to not only run errands but also get in some exercise and make new friends. Besides the clean-air aspect of using pedal power, Valley Metro is focusing its efforts this month on bike riding for exercise. Over the next few weeks, be sure to look at the calendar in the sidebar on the right side of this page. I’ll list all the fun events Valley Metro has planned for the month, like bide rodeos, a bike chase to see the Diamondbacks, and a ride to work day. In addition, I’ll also use the month to talk about:

Must have safety gear for your next Critical Mass
How I gained weight riding a bike
Carfree in Phoenix, the Valley Bike Month edition
Ways to map out and calculate distance on your next ride

This should be a fun month! See you around downtown Phoenix!

Crouching tiger, hidden Stacey. Ms Champion shows us her moves during our last bike crawl through downtown Phoenix.