Tempe Light Rail Extensions Still Up In Air

While the decision to take the South Tempe Light Rail extension program “off the table” was made a long time ago, there are still discussions going on about the best way to get people south from the current line. The two remaining light rail extension options are bus rapid transfer from Rural Road and a Modern Streetcar heading south through the Mill Avenue District. One interesting addition to this discussion that I recently heard about is a possibility of running the Streetcar along Ash Avenue north of University instead of Mill. I am curious to learn more about that at upcoming meetings as it sounds like a good / bad idea logistically. Ash to University and then back over to Mill? Can they make two turns there? Does it extend the “reach” of Mill Avenue further west? I think that’s going to be part of those discussions.

Huge differences in thought on the two transportation modes will also be discussed further. As always, cost comes into the discussion as does how many people are served. With Modern Streetcar, the extension ends at Southern Avenue which doesn’t really get anyone to SOUTH Tempe. With Rapid Bus, the discussion has been focused on bringing people through South Tempe and as far as Chandler. A connection to the Chandler Mall and to large employment centers seems to be a large focus. Of course, the fact that the Modern Streetcar is a fixed guide-way and a much more “permanent” mode of transportation, the economic impact of the areas served tends to be much higher.

I’ve been to a lot of public meetings where METRO discusses extensions and most of them bring forth a lot of interesting stuff. The Tempe South extension meetings have always brought out some interesting discussions and I would expect these next two to be no different.

Economic impacts of the light rail line and their effect on the Tempe real estate market are often discussed by people at these meetings, along with the ability to move people easily and efficiently to points of interest, jobs, schools, etc. The discussions can bring some pretty strong opinions. 🙂

Funding is always a big ???

The MAG  plan provides prop 400 cash to “build approximately two miles of high-capacity transit into south Tempe” along with some fed funds. The city of Tempe will be on the hook for operations. This stuff is pretty much clear as mud to me. The waters get even murkier when we start talking about the funding for the BRT plan, as a whole new set of funds (and/or lack there of ) is discussed. The information states that BRT funding could be put off beyond 2026. With the Modern Streetcar, the operations could start in 2017. Obviously, neither is right around the corner for most of us, but the decisions and planning are well underway. 

So, what are we supposed to do about these decisions? How about participate in the discussions! It’s not hard and it can be pretty interesting. From a recent METRO release we learn that new meetings are scheduled as follows:

Public meetings set for June 15 and 16

METRO and the cities of Tempe and Chandler invite you to attend a public meeting to learn about and provide input on the Tempe South High-Capacity Transit Study. This study has evaluated many options, including Mill/Ash Avenue Modern Streetcar and Rural Road Bus Rapid Transit, to enhance transit service in the southeast valley. The same information will be provided at both meetings.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

6:00–8:00 p.m.; presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Community Room is located down the hallway next to Paradise Bakery in the food court.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

6:00–8:00 p.m.; presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

655 E. Southern Ave., Tempe