Metro light rail meeting to discuss Phoenix West extension

by | 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...

Tempe council seeks federal funds for streetcar system

by | Feb 3, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion

by Dianna M. Nanez – Feb. 2, 2011 The Arizona Republic The Tempe City Council directed its staff to move forward with an application for federal funding to help build a streetcar system that would travel along Mill Avenue between Rio Salado Parkway and Southern Avenue. Tempe hopes to use a federal grant to pay half of the estimated $160 million cost to build the 2.6-mile length of streetcar track Hillary Foose of Metro light rail has said the remaining funding would come from Proposition 400, which was passed by Maricopa County voters in 2004 and extended a voter-approved half-cent-per-dollar sales tax by two decades. The streetcar is similar to light rail in that it runs on a rail line, but streetcars are smaller in length and width than light-rail vehicles. The stops along a streetcar line are similar to bus stops and more frequent than light-rail stops. Streetcars run as a single car, where light rail usually links two or more cars. To apply for a federal grant, Tempe must outline options to pay for operating a streetcar. If the project is approved for Federal Transit Authority funding, construction would begin in 2013 and end in 2016. The cost of operating the streetcar in 2017 is estimated at $3.1 million. That cost would be offset by fare revenue estimated at $618,000. In the past year, many public-transportation users have opposed cuts to bus services and the addition of the streetcar, saying Tempe would get more value out of investing in improving its bus system. Although Tempe has struggled in the tough economy to sustain funding for its transit operations, council...

Mesa light-rail extension gives city second chance

by | Jan 15, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information

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...