Tempe and Mill Avenue want your .02

Many of us have opinions about Mill Avenue. About what it is, what it has been and what it can/will be. Do you think light rail has been a benefit to Mill Avenue? Does light rail hurt or take away from what it “once was?”

If you would like to have that opinion heard, Tempe is listening.

In a recent letter to the Republic, Mayor Hallman talked about the future of Tempe and how it should get there.

Mayor Hallman mentioned that:

“Recently, Entrepreneur magazine named Tempe one of the 10 best places to start a business. Foreign Direct Investment Magazine named Tempe a city of the future. Mill Avenue was chosen by the American Planning Association as one of the 10 best streets in America. Utne Reader lauded our preservation efforts as one of the 10 most enlightened suburbs in America. Tempe also is a three-time designee by the America’s Promise Alliance as one of the 100 best communities for young people.”

Awards are great but, we need to know what the people want and will utilize. There has been a lot of activity lately on Mill with a lot happening at the recently opened MadCap Theaters and Market on Mill. These places just need more people to know about them. With newly announced entrants to the Mill area of Five Guys sandwich, Dave’s Electric Brewpub, Poppa Maize, Irish Pub, Counter Culture and others there appears to be some change coming.

The article also mentions light rail development but it is hard to tell if anyone really knows what that is going to look like. It will take a change in some thinking to bring the types of TOD ( transit oriented development ) that can and will shape the future of the corridor.

Mayor Hallman asks for input at public meetings:

“We need and welcome your participation at any of the Mill and Lake District Committee meetings, which typically are held prior to the first formal City Council meeting each month.”

The meetings are from 4 to 5 p.m. in the second-floor Don Cassano Community Room at the Tempe Transportation Center, 200 E. Fifth St. For agendas, visit www.tempe.gov/clerk/councilcommittees.htm.