Tempe 4th of July Party – Light Rail Style

Tempe Beach Park is the place to be for the 4th of July. In addition to the spectacular fireworks, you have a great opportunity to see the Award Winning Tempe Town Lake Bridge in action! Did you know the bridge built for the light rail cars has a state-of-the-art fiber-optic lighting system? Did you know that it will be able to change colors as the train crosses the bridge? It’s true; and it is a really cool feature that will be operational on a full-time basis once the trains begin service in December.

Not only will there be tons of fun on Mill (as usual) and at the Tempe Beach Park but you also have an opportunity to get an up-close look at a light rail train! Metro, along with the City of Tempe, will have a train stationed at the Mill Ave / 3rd St stop from 4-7PM and will be providing information about the upcoming system and the very important safety aspects of light rail. Following that, more testing will begin and trains will run in both directions between the Operations and Maintenance Center and approximately the Mission Palm’s Hotel area. The trains are currently scheduled for testing from 7-9PM on the 4th. According to Dilanna at the City of Tempe, "this could be an opportunity to get people use to seeing the trains in the street." – "This is our last real big opportunity to do that before we begin operations." It will also be a great way for people to see the stop they can use for next years festivities! 🙂

Serious folks, if you have been wondering what the trains look like or would like to see how cool the bridge looks when lit up, you might want to take advantage of this great opportunity while celebrating the 4th of July. Have fun!