by bryan | Feb 26, 2011 | light rail expansion
Jim Walsh Arizona Republic 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.” … Don Mortensen, a co-owner of Light Rail Advisors, a real-estate brokerage, said he has seen a few businesses immediately adjacent to the Sycamore Station prosper, but the economic downtown and the lack of financing delayed plans for a large apartment complex. Although apartment complexes aimed at Arizona State University students are thriving along light rail in Tempe, “Mesa has been on the end of the development side,” he said. Just across the Mesa border in Tempe, crews are busy building Apache Trails,a 75-unit federally subsidized apartment complex for deaf seniors that is expected to open this summer, said Larry Schmalz,a Tempe planner. Despite the recession, light rail has been a major stimulant to construction and business development in Tempe, he said. “It’s an evolution. It takes a while for it all to come together. It’s one project at a time,” Schmalz said. But Mortensen and Teresa Brice,a former Mesa mayoral candidate and now executive director of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. in Phoenix, agreed...
by bryan | Feb 26, 2011 | light rail expansion
Jim Walsh Arizona Republic Mesa Light-rail construction schedule • 2011 – Design work continues. • 2012 – Construction delays begin as crews move utilities in preparation of construction. • 2013-16 – Heavy construction under way as crews install tracks, build stations and parking facilities between Sycamore and Mesa Drive. A site for a park-and-ride has not been...
by bryan | Feb 26, 2011 | light rail expansion
by Sean Holstege – Feb. 15, 2011 The Arizona Republic Supporters of Mesa’s planned downtown light-rail extension got a major boost Monday when President Barack Obama included money for it in his budget proposal. Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff will announce today that the government will include $38 million for the 3-mile, four-station extension in the budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. A budget summary posted online by the U.S. Department of Transportation lists the Mesa project. “This is a great day, great news,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said. “Once you get in the door, it’s rare that they pull the plug.” Read...
by bryan | Feb 26, 2011 | light rail expansion, News & Information
by Emily Gersema – Feb. 26, 2011 The Arizona Republic Metro light rail is inviting the public to a meeting Wednesday so residents can learn and comment on details of the agency’s plan for light rail’s west extension through west Phoenix. The proposal under consideration by Metro’s advisory board involves laying track on Jefferson Street from Central Avenue, past the Capitol and state buildings to Interstate 17, then north to Interstate 10, where it would then run west to 79th Avenue. The proposed line would connect at Central Avenue and Jefferson Street to the existing 19-mile light-rail line that runs from 19th and Montebello avenues in Phoenix through Tempe and into west Mesa. Read...
by bryan | Feb 26, 2011 | Light Rail Business, Restaurant
John Kelly LightRailConnect Intern The Best Mex in Tempe Moreno’s Mexican Grill in Tempe is located on the Southeast corner of Rural Rd. and University Dr. right across from the light rail station located on the west side of Rural Rd. It has a fantastic selection of relatively inexpensive but purely authentic Mexican cuisine. While admittedly, there is not much room for expansion or innovation with Mexican food, Moreno’s Grill does a great job of using only the freshest ingredients to create dishes, tacos and burritos that will make you believe you are in the heart of Central America. Moreno’s has 3 locations, the original location being on Home Rd. and Broadway Rd. in Mesa, with another arriving in Chandler a few years later and their newest location in Tempe. As soon as you walk in the door, you are exposed to a sensory overload of nostalgic sights, sounds and smells. You are greeted enthusiastically by one of the employees with the familiar “hola amigos” as your ears pick up the uniquely Latin American music coming from the jukebox in the corner; the constant grilling of carne asada, chicken, and seafood overload your olfactory system and whisk you away to that last vacation you took to the Mexican Riviera. The bar and drink selection is equally as impressive and will leave you singing Latin love songs and shaking maracas just like a Mariachi band (disclaimer: the previously described actions may or may not have been induced by a margarita and tequila-filled stupor; but either way, patrons are sure to enjoy themselves). As a personal favorite, the chicken fajita burrito,...
