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6th October 2009

Where’s the METRO light rail gift shop?

posted at 9.00 am under themes Downtown Phoenix, Light Rail, Miscellaneous, Opinion and Comment and tags , ,

So every city, it seems, has a place where one can buy trinkets of the usual touristy traps there. New York City’s visitors are inundated with tchotchkes of the Empire State Building or snowglobes with the Manhattan skyline. London’s tourists find models of what most people call Big Ben (but what’s technically called the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster) or those fuzzy hats that the Buckingham Palace guards wear. Toronto visitors can buy models of the CN Tower, this hemisphere’s tallest free-standing structure.

Preface given. Back a couple of weeks in the Dean’s Office of the College of Public Programs, friend and colleague Lonni Summers were discussing this same thing. Where’s the METRO light rail gift shop? Where can I buy a bumper sticker that says, “My other car is METRO light rail”? Or what about a keychain with a model of the trains?

The Phoenix METRO’s success isn’t really hinged on how many people ride it during the week. A recent New York Times article posited that it was the weekend users that make our light rail a success. My point here is that Phoenicians do it differently.

Why just limit this to the light rail? Who wouldn’t want a little replica of Her Secret is Patience (the art installation hanging over the Civic Space park) sitting on their desk? (I do!) Yes, the Grand Canyon might be the most clichéd and tourist-exploited place here in Arizona, but what about for urbanistas?

The economy is bad. Cities need to be creative in generating new revenue. So why not start here? And I really want my light rail tchotchkes.

-Edward Jensen

View Comments
  • David has a point. Maybe a limited selection of items on sale through the internet and transit stores could work to bring in a tiny bit of revenue, which would make staffing of the transit stores a little more sustainable financially...

    Amyann, the light rail is brilliant, and it is not ridden just by a niche group, tons of regular transit users ride it, as well as first time transit riders. I just argue that it's inappropriate to invest in a gift shop when tourism is down and transit and city funds are extremely drained. The central Phoenix East Valley Light Rail system was one of the best investments this metro region has made during my life time. It might viewed as an initial step towards moving in the right direction, and just since we're behind should we attack our timing? No, it needs to be applauded for what it is.
  • I think a gift shop of some type would be a great idea. As I commented in response to your recent post on Facebook, I recently saw a model of a METRO light rail train on display at the Tempe Town Center and asked the staff if I could buy one for my daughter. I was told that none were for sale. That was not only disappointing news for me, but a lost revenue opportunity for the transit agency. Maybe a full-time dedicated gift shop is not financially feasible, but a limited array of merchandise could be sold both online and at staffed transit centers like the TTC and Central Station.
  • I agree with the first commenter. Who would want to buy that stuff? Just because you do not use other modes of transportation really does not mean that the light-rail is brilliant eddie. There are many other modes of transportation, such as the bus system, biking, walking, carpooling, that you never talk about. Also many cities exceed our humble beginnings at trying to be earth friendly. Overall, the light-rail will probably be an expensive, tax payer charged debt increasing project that only a localized group of Phoenicians can appreciate.
  • Does Portland's TriMet MAX light rail system offer key chains? No. Phoenix isn't NYC and if we want our transit system to be viable we wouldn't use precious city or agency funds to start focusing on such a thing... because people would likely not buy that kinda stuff, tourism is really down here and it likely wouldn't succeed at making any sort of profit... when the city is seriously considering cutting back hours or headway for METRO the last thing we need is some gimmick like this.

    However, plenty of private businesses (think the t-shirt design shops in Tempe) have come up with little memorabilia for METRO opening, and if there's interest maybe they'd do more... also how about getting creative, or local artists who maybe worked on the art installations of the stations to do some one-of-a-kind or limited run of trinkets, sculptures or other art..

    Or trying to make something yourself!

    I'm sorry - I'm just not buying the idea of a Central Phoenix gift shop, and I worry that it would further justify those detractors who say the whole system is in fact one big novelty/amusement park attraction. But I understand your yearning for LTR memorabilia, such a desire is a valid U.S. / consumer reality. The lapel pins that the board of directors for METRO have are awesome...
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