On Wednesday, October 18, the South Central Collaborative celebrated their first anniversary. The Collaborative, which includes Gould Evans Principals Krista Shepherd and Trudi Hummel, convenes for the purpose of informing and engaging local residents and business owners on the City of Phoenix / Valley Metro South Light Rail Extension.

The Collaborative provides a forum for comments and input on the design and construction process, truly putting the community in the driver’s seat and improving the quality of life in South Phoenix and Central City South.

Image credit: Gould Evans

Collaborative members celebrated the anniversary by reflecting on the year’s accomplishments and defining next steps for the year to come. Below is a snapshot of major themes to emerge from the meeting summed up in a series of quotes.

“Collaboration is better than divide and conquer.”

“I am very thankful this group is speaking up about issues and working together to resolve them.  It means I don’t have to do this all by myself.”

Image credit: Gould Evans

“This is the only setting that allows the truth to come out about what is really going on from the community perspective.”

“I have learned so much about transportation – not just at the meetings, but every time I encounter a S. Central Collaborative partner in other situations.  I pass this information on to people in the community.”

Image credit: Gould Evans

“This group is making sure the S. Central Light Rail Extension public involvement process is truly “involving” the community in the decisions – so many times public “involvement” means the community is told what will happen and is not involved in making it happen.”