Transportation in Tempe, or anywhere around the country, can be a very interesting topic. With a couple of very heated battles happening in the Tempe political arena recently, transit seems to have been a bit more quiet than one might expect.
Tempe has light rail, their bus system and the popular Orbit systems for people to use. The kid friendly transit passes allow any Tempe resident, up to age 18, to ride for free which is a great program designed to help introduce people to public transit.
As some of you may know, I’ve been a huge fan of watching the economic growth and opportunities along our light rail line. It’s no big secret that I think fixed route transit lines create opportunity and economic development along with providing the opportunity for people to live a less car-dependant lifestyle if they so choose. Take a look at this short video to hear what our friend, Dick Foreman has to say about the future of transportation in Tempe.
“when you take in to account the tax dollars from development, the jobs created and the construction fees, the streetcar will be a great asset to developing a modern city.” – Dick Foreman
Yes, I am happy to support Dick Foreman for Tempe City Council. I hope you will too.
“For a downtown corridor that some may see as nothing more than the Mormon Temple at one end, blight and closed businesses at the other end, and not too much in the middle — the prospect of residential colleges locating there is huge and welcome news.” East Valley Tribune via msnbc.com
The article points out the somewhat obvious fact that Mill Avenue and downtown Tempe would be very different without ASU and the students, employees and jobs brought to the area because of the college.
One thing that seems certain is the fact that these students are going to need places to live, work and play. Heck, they just might want to live close to campus and close to a light rail station, right? For now, the downtown Mesa area seems to be a bit more affordable than their neighbors to the west in Tempe. When someone calls and says they want to buy a house near ASU for “cheap”, they are often surprised at how few sub-$200k homes are actually located within close proximity to campus. In Mesa it might be a bit easier for now, but there is a limited supply and a demand that should increase as students begin descending on this part of town. We’ve heard that new housing options are coming, and that will be something of a necessity for the area.
With negotiations said to be in the works for yet another college, the area seems to be on the fast-track to breathing new life into an older area that many had written off as dead. The light rail line is sure to be a real asset to business owners, college students and a bunch of people in the area. Thousands more are soon to be “rockin’ the Rail Life!”
Mayor Smith in downtown Mesa
Towards the end of the article it says they hope mayor Smith gets re-elected this year. I’m willing to bet he does. Any takers?
So, I shot this pic back in mid-March at a place many of you have probably visited.
Anyone know what the name of the bar was in mid-March or what the name of the place is today?
Hint: Some of you might be shocked to know that the place recently changed their name…
Remember, Rail Life has a Phoenix Light Rail Group on Flickr. Basically, we want to share some of our pictures from the community and allow people to add their pics (or videos), as well. These can be light rail related, but we also want pics or videos of your favorite spot, restaurant, sports team, community, event etc.
I don’t know a lot of Spanish, just a few words. I can count to 10, and I know a couple of phrases that really have no gentlemanly value to them, but I have been known to say an enthusiastic, uno mas margarita, por favor! on occasion. When I heard the news from our friends [...]
The City of Tempe recently announced that a new hotel will soon break ground at Fifth and Forest. Yep, a shiny new Residence Inn by Marriott will soon be joining the list of “places to stay along the light rail line.” This 173 room hotel will open in late 2013/early 2014. Where is Fifth and [...]
The news hit me hard… I was reading through my Google+ page late Friday night and saw a link posted by my friend Edward Jensen that said, “The Downtown Phoenix Public Market is closing.” My first thought was that this was a mistake, maybe a bad joke. Was it April Fools Day? I clicked the [...]
It was recently announced that Allstate Insurance Company has leased 66,000 square feet of office space at the Tempe Gateway building located at Mill Avenue and 3rd Street. Yep, right next to the Mill Avenue light rail station. The Tempe Gateway building is 8 stories tall and has 260,000 square feet of Class A space [...]
Bike riders seem to have been big users of the Phoenix light rail system since day one of operations. In fact, I believe there has been more interest from people riding bikes on light rail trains than what was originally anticipated. Heck, that makes sense because the system as a whole seems to be much [...]
I shot this pic as I was driving down Central Avenue the other day. Wait, I wasn’t actually driving when I shot it, I was parked at a stop light. METRO and the city of Phoenix seem to take their safety issues pretty seriously. Hopefully, none of you ever “get” to ride in the back [...]
Public meeting to review recommendations for West Valley light rail connection In particular, feedback needed on downtown route to meet I-10 freeway PHOENIX, AZ — After several years of study and community feedback, METRO has reached recommendations for the route and transit mode for the Phoenix West high-capacity transit extension. METRO welcomes the community to [...]
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