Phoenix is currently involved in three failures a light rail systems that will fail. A government run hotel in downtown Phoenix that will fail. And the City of Phoenix financing a new ASU campus in Downtown Phoenix which also will be a huge waste of tax dollars.

Now we can add a fourth costly failure to the list of things the City of Phoenix is wasting our tax dollars on, a rat hole called Papago Park.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0420papagopark0420.html

A grand vision for Papago Park Panel's goal: Create a Central Park for Valley

Catherine Reagor The Arizona Republic Apr. 20, 2006 12:00 AM

New York has Central Park. Chicago has Lincoln Park. San Diego has Balboa Park.

Phoenix has Papago Park?

It doesn't quite have the same ring, probably because Papago isn't in the same league as those other big-city parks with their instant name recognition and loads of amenities.

An effort is under way to transform Papago Park, with its ideal location smack in the middle of the Valley, into a top-flight municipal park. Developers and government officials behind the drive think it would also help elevate Phoenix's reputation, because great cities have great public parks.

"Papago Park could be Phoenix's Lincoln Park, but it's not now," said Grady Gammage Jr., a real estate attorney who led an Urban Land Institute panel that looked at Papago Park's potential. "It's an incredible piece of real estate for the Valley that's completely underutilized."

Remaking the 1,200-acre Papago Park would take years, millions of dollars and cooperation among officials in three cities.

Plans call for narrowing roads through the park to slow traffic; adding an activity hub, possibly with a restaurant and coffee shop, between the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden; and upgrading one of the two golf courses.

The redevelopment of Papago Park, near 55th and Van Buren streets, isn't something developers would make money off of initially. But as the park and the area around it became a destination, they could profit from developing the surrounding property in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale. Some of the priciest real estate in New York is found around Central Park. It's the same around Lincoln Park in Chicago and Balboa Park in San Diego.

Maximizing the park's potential could be a mixed blessing for those who live nearby.

"We love the park. We would certainly like to see improvements, but we are very protective of our environment," said Billie Young, who lives in the Scottsdale neighborhood Sherwood Heights, which is next to Papago Park.

Residents of that neighborhood got an ordinance passed a few years ago that limits the height of houses to 16 feet, so park views aren't blocked.

Two-thirds of Papago Park is in Phoenix, one-third is in Tempe and the majority borders Scottsdale. Officials from the three cities have been part of discussions about the future of the park, which is viewed by many as three separate pieces: the zoo, the botanical garden and the park itself. Redevelopment plans call for uniting all existing and future features and marketing them as one. "Papago Park has an identity crisis," said Betty Drake, a Scottsdale City Council member.

Another recommendation, which was backed by most of the politicians who attended an Urban Land Institute meeting this week to discuss plans, was to create an intergovernmental agency to manage the park and make sure the redevelopment happens.

The plans also call for upgrading transportation within the park, likely by adding a trolley or monorail to connect a new activity center to the zoo and the botanical garden. The 11-member panel, which has been studying the park since last year, also suggested clearly defining the park's entrances. Today, members said, visitors may not know when they're within Papago's boundaries.

"The challenge is to get politicians and business leaders involved," Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said. "We need to act now."

If the park's face-lift is tied to Arizona's centennial in 2012, it could get government financing.

If it doesn't happen, the three cities will have to find the money to remake the park. No price tag has been attached to the redevelopment plans.

Papago Park is expected to be the cornerstone of a statewide plan to prepare for the 2012 anniversary, said John Driggs, former Phoenix mayor and member of the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission. It was created last year to plan for centennial projects and handle fund-raising.

A bill to finance the commission is in the Legislature waiting for the state budget to be settled. If the bill is approved, $5 million will be appropriated, but it must be matched by other sources. None of the money has been officially earmarked for the park.