The Lighter Side of Phoenix Light Rail
Earlier this year, the Phoenix light rail system and the Arizona Republic teamed up to sponsor a contest promoting light rail safety. To attract entries, which were due Sept. 30, they offered this prize: a year’s worth of free travel on the light rail system, which officially opens on Dec. 26.
Well, 500-plus entries are in, and the promotion organizers are now working to select a winner. (Readers of the Arizona Republic’s Website, azcentral.com, will choose their favorites, and the top nominees will be passed along to Metro officials for a final decision.) While the top pick hasn’t been identified yet, though, some of the bottom ones have.
Writing in his azcentral.com blog today, reporter Casey Newton sums up some of the worst entries to come in for the light rail promotion. They include:
“Our death toll is zero, and it’s certainly not shrinking;”
“Light rail: The Silent Killer — Watch It!”
“Rail with us, curtail the fun;” and
“Be afraid … be very afraid!”
Quite the ringing endorsements for public transportation, huh? You can read more awful entries at Casey Newton’s blog.
Some of the entries over there are hilarious. Can’t wait to see who wins.
[...] Just in from PhoenixNewTimes.com is a report of a minor collision between a motorist and the train on Tuesday afternoon. The car fled the scene and passengers were held up for a short time until police arrived. No one was reported hurt. It does bring up some safety issues of the on-street rail system. Safety was the issue of previous EcoLocalizer post, some of those humorous safety slogans are suddenly appropo. [...]