West Mesa’s assortment of boarded-up fast-food restaurants, an abandoned supermarket, run-down motels and unattractive trailer parks didn’t exactly impress a woman from Ohio riding the Metro light rail for the first time during the holidays.
“She really liked Tempe, going over the bridge. She wanted to get back to Mill Avenue” for lunch, said Jim McPherson, a Phoenix historic preservationist, when asked about his mother Bea’s reaction to Mesa’s gateway along the light-rail line.
“They really should start looking at what people see on both sides,” he said. “It’s a no-man’s land. You need a little more there for synergy.”
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/01/14/20110114mesa-light-rail-plan.html#ixzz1B9w0Gdyj
by Jim Walsh – Jan. 15, 2011 The Arizona Republic