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Theme music by Alexander Blu

Energy Minute music by Chris Keister

Program notes

Getting around Phoenix for Greenbuild 2009 will be easy -- even easier than Chicago in 2007, and Boston in 2008. The new Valley Metro is a 20-mile light rail line connecting the downtown corridors of six of the cities comprising greater Phoenix. The transit system brings everything Greenbuild within walking distance.

Tickets and passes

Tickets for the Metro are sold through vending machines at each train platform, or at transit centers. A one-ride ticket is $1.75, and a 7-day pass to cover your whole stay at Greenbuild is $17.50. But check your hotel confirmation first, to see if there's a 3-day pass in there for you.

Taking Metro from the airport to Greenbuild

Metro doesn't run directly into the airport yet. When you arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, walk outside to where the shuttle buses run. Look for the stop for the free airport shuttle. It's a silver bus, it runs every 10 minutes, and -- as the name implies -- this part of your trip is free.

The airport shuttle will drop you at the light rail station at 44th and Washington Streets. Trains run every 10 minutes, just like the shuttles, starting at five past the hour.

Buy your ticket at the vending machine, and get on the next westbound train. (You're headed for Phoenix, not Mesa.)

Your stop is the fourth stop, at Third and Washington Streets. It's a 10-minute ride. When you get off the train, the Phoenix Convention Center is on both sides of the street. Welcome to Greenbuild 2009!

Greenbuild hotels on the Metro line

If your hotel is close to Central Avenue -- if it's on first through seventh street or avenue -- or if it's on a street named after a president -- Jefferson, Adams, Washington, Van Buren, or Roosevelt -- then chances are the light rail stops within a few blocks of your front door. This entire downtown corridor is safe to walk at any reasonable hour. All of the streets in the downtown district are on a grid system, so it's easy to find your way around.

Train to night life

Downtown Tempe is the lively part of the city and home to Arizona State University. From the Convention Center, catch Metro at third and Jefferson. Take the eastbound train seven stops to Mill Avenue. Walk south, away from the lake, into downtown. Trains keep running until 11 PM Sunday through Thursday, and until 2 AM on Friday and Saturday nights.

To help you map it out in advance we've collected some of the resources we used, at the end of this article.

Art & science of transit

If transit is your profession, then by all means, jump on and travel the whole length of the Metro line. Don't miss the public art -- from the Cloud Canopy at 44th, to the Station Beacons at Civic Center. Each station has its own art installation.

It took 12 years to get light rail approved and built in Arizona's largest city. Voters in Tempe approved a tax increase in 1996 to pay for transit, and Phoenix voters followed in 2000. In a naming contest, "Metro" was chosen out of 3,400 suggestions. Metro was fully funded and broke ground in 2005. By the end of 2008, all 20 miles of transit service, with 28 stations, were open to the public. Planners are looking out as far as 2030 for the construction of more track, some of which is already funded.

Light rail was one of the factors that made Phoenix the city of choice for this year's Greenbuild conference.

Hybrids and plug-in electric cars are great ideas, but Americans need to do more than make our cars run cleaner. We need to revisit how our cities work, from urban planning to public transit systems. Phoenix is doing more than thinking about transit. They're doing it.

I'll see you at Greenbuild!

Resources

Trip planner (light rail and bus)

Valley Metro system map

Metro street alignment map

Light rail schedules

Metro public art