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| - The Valley's light rail caused a lot of controversy when it was voted into effect (by a landslide), while it was being constructed (with a movement to stop the light rail, even while streets were torn up to install it) and now that it's being used and beating expectations (being called a waste of money).
Truth be told, it's public transportation and like all forms of transportation it's just another option for getting around. If you want to spend a day around Central Phoenix you can purchase an all-day pass while saving gas. If you want to go to one place in particular and want to get there in a hurry, you may want to use a car. If you want to get to one place in particular and don't want to pay more money for parking and/or anticipate heavy traffic congestion afterward, the light rail is a great option.
No, it isn't a subway system, but one opposing argument to the rail is its expense. Given Phoenix' granite and caliche base, plus it's sprawl, a subway would've cost significantly more and would've taken significantly longer to build. Yes, it has limited access. A by-product of this age of instant gratification is impatience, and unfortunately, building the damn thing takes A LOT of time. We won't wake up and have an extensive system, ever. The line is exactly as Valley Metro calls it: a STARTER line. More lines are scheduled to be built and it will take time until other lines feed into it and give more of the Valley light rail access. Every city with rail transportation had to start with one line at one time or another.
Most complaints about the system are more or less people complaining just to complain. It's modern, comfortable, doesn't have that "rat in a tunnel" feel subways do, and gives people other options of getting around.
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