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We’re talking about adding train tracks to existing streets in the downtown of a major American city.
There is no environmental issue here at all — no animal habitat, no wilderness landscape, nothing — as anyone normal person would understand it.
What you do have is substantive political disagreement in the City of Phoenix and the broader Maricopa County about the wisdom of investing in mass transit.
This is why we have politics and elections and the people who won decided they want to build transit.
But in America, nothing ends with the political decision — after the decision, the people who lost get to go sue.
And one permissible grounds for a lawsuit is to say the planners neglected to consider some potential environmental consequence.
So the whole point of the review is not to serve a substantive environmental goal — it is a purely defensive measure to try to ensure that project opponents can’t claim that you neglected something.
Unlike the Clean Air Act none of this actually imposes any environmental standards on anything.
It is a pure procedural requirement whose practical necessity is driven entirely by sore loser litigation. Nobody thinks a light rail extension is environmentally bad.
You might think it’s a waste of money, and sue for that reason.
But the defensive proceduralism makes it slower, more expensive, and more wasteful.
I actually wasn’t there on Friday (which was in the past) and he wasn’t there on Saturday when I spoke.
Sorry to disappoint!
The Borealis Project is fully permitted and primed for growth in the Walker Lane Gold Trend, one of Nevada’s most prolific regions. With high-grade extensions and top-tier infrastructure, $BOGO.V is building a strong future.
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"Environmental review" is the politically correct term for "enrich attorneys".
Has very little to do with the actual environment.
Welcome to town! Can I show you ? We’re a new model of neighborhood that is turning heads and proving that walkable neighborhoods are in demand and widely loved by residents and neighbors alike
Doesn't environmental review also encompass things like projects impacts on traffic and transportation patterns, water and soil assessments before construction commences to avoid contamination, and construction-related emissions in high-density neighborhoods?
Your map is upside down. The extension would travel west, as the existing tracks go east toward Tempe and Mesa. Good thread otherwise.
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Hopefully we all soon agree that democratically elected reps should be able to uphold campaign promises without the justice system adding costs and delays.
If they cared about environmental stuff. We should definitely stop producing alfalfa for Saudi Arabia
You know this grift has been going on for years now right? You can’t just now be realizing that much of the environmental reviews demanded are to prevent growth and development like housing. The term they like to use is Sprawl.
A group from Phoenix should visit Houston to see what a failure light rail is. LR runs on existing streets so those streets are useless, it costs more than busses, the route cannot be changed like bus routes, the stops are not as flexible as a bus. Light rail is bad for cities.
On a more local scale, we have been locked in a decade long argument with the county. A bridge built in the 1960s had its approach washed out. It is the only bridge over the major river in the county. It is the only bridge crossing for 15 miles in either direction...
Matty, this is not right. It is west of downtown Phoenix. The capitol is west of 7th avenue.
It depends on what you consider "the environment". They will have to lay tracks. They will be noisy. While these adverse impacts won't necessarily kill the plan, they have to lay it out to the public, and let the public weigh in on how they are gonna mitigate it.
unless you're building on undeveloped land, there should be no such thing as environmental review. The nattural environment is already gone
The Borealis Project is fully permitted and primed for growth in the Walker Lane Gold Trend, one of Nevada’s most prolific regions. With high-grade extensions and top-tier infrastructure, $BOGO.V is building a strong future.
Follow to stay informed!
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Honestly hordes of Waymo fleets will probably do more to reduce congestion and increase safety than light rail at this point in PHX
NEPA clearance doesn’t often make sense. But I’m building on an existing road! Doesn’t matter most of the time. Like tax code, it’s needlessly complicated to employ large environmental engineering firms.
I agree that it should be easier to build trains, much more importantly why is your map oriented so south is on the top and north is on the bottom
You’ve probably done it already, but if not make sure to take a #Waymo ride. During a visit to Phoenix last week, I took several. Convenient, reasonable cost, safe, sticks it to Elon, and most importantly really fun!
Hey two threads for you. First the most recent transpo plan that included finding for transit was widely popular.
Quote
Tony Cani
@tcani
Nearly 60% of Maricopa County voters approved Proposition 479, which extends a 0.5% sales tax for transportation infrastructure. While the legislature was divided on sending this to the voters, their constituents weren't. Prop 479 passed in every LD.
So how about by city? 1/6Show more
this lawsuit holding up the Brent Spence Bridge is similar, and is delaying one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation.
Processing why your map is backwards to this Phoenician
$BOGO.V is advancing as a Nevada-focused gold producer with our flagship Borealis Project. With high-grade extensions, full permits, and top-tier infrastructure, it's positioned in the world’s #1 mining jurisdiction (Fraser Institute, 2022).
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Hate to be that person but EIAs look into a broad spectrum including water run off and disturbance of soils etc. It doesn’t usually stop the build just documents potential impacts and how to mitigate them.
This extension has already been built. It extends south as well (up on your upside down map)
Ummm technically your arrow points West and your map is backwards
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It’s part of the wide plan to build a line out to west Phoenix. Arizona Republicans basically hate it and put up a bill that banned building light rail within 200ft of the capitol. Idk where that is now but the plan continues as is currently
I would love to hear a detailed explanation what matt thinks goes into preparing an environment review document. He's literally spent years bashing it, he should have a really good understanding of the process.
As a Phoenix resident I’m curious why we don’t put the light rail underground. Let’s get Elon to bore us some tunnels.
Correct, widely misunderstood by “policy experts” and abundance grifters who aren’t engineers or trained professionals, in anything actually, who think building houses and infrastructure should be like legos
i hate matty y eglasiasy but i will give him credit for understanding this. we will never get japan like public transportation superiority bc of this bullshit
Arizona is so ripe for mass transit and they just ... Won't. They make it the least best option or even least medium option
The thing I like most about this tweet, baside the very good point being made, is your solidarity with the global south by refusing to play by the establishment’s “up=north” rules.
