Phoenix Observation # 2: Not a walking city.

Forgive my absence. I spent last week in Banff, Alberta on business. More on that later when I get a chance to develop the pictures I took (yes, I had to buy a disposible since I forgot my digital). For now let me bring to you... Phoenix Observation #2.

Phoenix is not a walking city.

At the moment Phoenix is the fastest growing city in the U.S. Just last year, it overtook Philadelphia for the position of 5th largest city in the country. Nowadays we hear a lot about the city in the news, and almost everyone knows someone (ahem... me) who lives either in Phoenix, Tempe or Scottsdale. It's hard then to imagine the Phoenix of 40 years ago, when it had just began to grow, thanks to the construction of so many dams in the area. Phoenix has grown up around the idea of the car, and the booming growth of the past 10 years or so had only served to cement that into the local culture.

As someone who doesn't own a car and prefers to walk most places, this annoys me. Not only are 5-lane roads ugly, but they are dangerous and don't help the situation. Neighborhood are divided this way, and commerce is consolidated to strip malls and big-box retailers.

Luckily, my wife and I were able to find an apartment only blocks from my work, as well as within walking distance of a Trader Joe's, restaurants and bars. Other essentials are also close by: barber shops, blockbuster and even a pitifully small farmer's market. Unfortunately, these kinds of situations are few and far between.

I'll have to give it to Phoenix though, they are trying to change things. A new light rail line, the city's first, is set to be completed in December 2008, and a commuter rail line, to run on existing tracks is apparently in the works. Carsharing ( i.e. Flexcar), something I'm particularly interested in, has just been implemented at ASU in Tempe and hopefully will expand around the valley.

For now, I'll have to make due with the current situation. If the light rail picks up and people start reacting to the current state of affairs, maybe I can bring myself to start liking this place.

Note: The weather here has cooled down considerably since I wrote that first post (only one week ago). All of a sudden we've been able to turn off the A/C and start sleeping with the sliding door in our bedroom wide open. I believe this city is trying to charm me.