Last night, Metro held a public meeting to share information on the latest recommendations for the Tempe Streetcar project along Mill and Ash Avenues. While I found much of the information interesting and enjoyed talking with people about the alignment, the construction process and economic impacts, it was the station locations that seemed most interesting to me. The loop at Mill Avenue will bring a very interesting change to the Mill Avenue District while the North / South trains that run along Mill from University to Southern have a feel of bringing people to the light rail line, to Mill and to ASU.
The State Press from ASU just ran an article titled “Tempe streetcar forges ahead” where they interview METRO staff, talk about some of the streetcar features and list at least one person that isn’t exactly thrilled with a “streetcar to nowhere.” To me, the streetcar project seems like another bonus for ASU as it easily gets people to and from the Tempe campus and to the existing light rail line. Much of the streetcar line runs by several residential neighborhoods and could be a unique opportunity for people interested in the Tempe real estate market. Obviously, time will tell.
Below is a map of the proposed station locations. There are 17 stations identified ( 13 different locations ) as potential stops. At this point, we are told that changes could still be made, I’ll update the map if we get new information. ( it’s a Google map, you can click on the stations, zoom in, zoom out etc. )
View Tempe Modern Streetcar Map – Stretching the Mill Avenue District in a larger map
I’m not sure if there will be “official” station names ( maybe they can sell naming rights? ) yet but so far the locations are:
Rio Salado
3rd and Ash
3rd and Mill
5th and Ash
6th and Mill
University and Ash
9th and Mill
11th and Mill
Parkway Blvd and Mill
Broadway and Mill
Broadmor and Mill
Del Rio and Mill
Southern and Mill
I’ll try to update our Tempe Streetcar page with a few more informative articles as they become available.
Leave a Reply