Turning Highways Into Train Tracks in Phoenix

In Phoenix, planners are developing ideas to build a ‘people mover’ train instead of finishing a state highway expansion. The concept makes sense: eliminate the traffic that comes with pick-ups and drop-offs by moving the airport parking farther away from the terminals and providing free trains to take just the people into the terminals. One frequent traveler said she’d be willing to give it a shot.

Mary Jane Rogers, spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase in Arizona, said she likes the idea of being able to hop a train from 44th and Washington streets to catch a flight.

“If it were so convenient that given my lack of time management, which often puts me in a situation where I pay premium prices to park right by the terminal, I’d use it,” Rogers said.

The train is expected to start operating in 2013, using a highway once known as the Sky Harbor Expressway as a bed for railroad tracks. The state wants to give the road to Phoenix instead of expanding it as was once planned.