North Scottsdale, The Place to Be.Written by Joan Ewart
North Scottsdale! Anything North of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd is considered North Scottsdale.Yesterday outer reaches, today place to be! When we first started coming to Scottsdale, Shea Boulevard was essentially northern part of Scottsdale...and Shea Blvd was just a two lane road that went to Fountain Hills, a newly formed community east of Scottsdale. Shea Blvd essentially ended at 90th Street! In 1984 or thereabouts, Scottsdale Ranch started building at 96th and rush was on. Cactus Road was a long string of Arabian Horse Farms, today sadly, most of those are gone. Scottsdale Airport was practically in middle of desert, now in middle of air noise disputes. A trip to Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog (as it was called in those days) seemed to take forever. Rawhide was thoroughly western experience located in desert. Today Rawhide is being relocated and sold as lots for more upscale dwellings. Wow, what 25 years can do. Scottsdale kept annexing and annexing until now it covers approximately 185 square miles. Population in 1980 was 88,412 and today in 2004 it is 202,705, based on 2000 census. Median age is 41 - so much for myth that Scottsdale is for retirement only. Pinnacle Peak is landmark of North Scottsdale! North Scottsdale is a study in contrasts, admittedly new luxury is taking over from Old West, but as long as Greasewood Flats, an old stagecoach stop exists, Old West will be alive in North Scottsdale. Greasewood Flats, by way has some really great hamburgers and is very scenic. Across road new multi-million Four Seasons Resort. A study in contrasts to say least.
| | Why Passenger Surveys are a Transport Operators Best FriendWritten by Martin Day
Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring effects of improvements and can, at same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using service.Establishing a Starting Point When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:- • allow proper targeting of investment • allow measurement of effect of change • assist in moral of those implementing change • ensure that new issues are kept separate from original plan and budget Targeting Investment There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets. Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:- - safety and security - punctuality - fares and ticket types - capacity and overcrowding - quality and design of vehicle - cleanliness - facilities at stations and terminals - facilities for passengers with disabilities Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted. Passenger surveys allow operators to identify those areas that are of most concern to their customers. Through analysis of passenger feedback operator will be able to ensure that their improvement and investment plans are inline with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into high and low priority, as well as long and short term plans. Some capital investment such as building of new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take years to implement. However, initial survey is also likely to identify some high profile areas that can be implemented almost immediately at a relative low cost. Measuring Change From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold. One objective will be to ensure that changes and initiatives that are implemented have been effective in addressing passenger issues. A second objective will be to promote and advertise initiatives that have been implemented and also inform and educate passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.
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