Remember WAY back in 2009 when our friend, Yuri Artibise kicked off the first Jane’s Walk in Phoenix talking about some of the cool areas downtown? Yeah, so do I. It was a nice day of exploring the city with a great group of people. Yuri has since moved to Canada, but the Jane’s Walks will continue in the valley.
METRO is hosting a bus and walking tour of central Mesa along with a light rail / walking tour in Tempe to discuss aspects of the proposed Tempe Streetcar project.
From the Jane Jacob’s Walk web site, we learn that the tours will be quite the fiesta, happening on the 5th of May!
In Mesa, participants will learn about the project and the art and architecture concepts that have been proposed. From Sycamore and Main, people will be bussed to Country Club /Main Street and walk to Center Street/Main Street to discuss station identity, sustainable development, transit as a placemark, and downtown Mesa as an arts and cultural district. If you haven’t taken the time to learn more about this area, I highly recommend it. Check out what is there and get a feel for the potential of this area.
After returning from the Mesa walk, people will have an opportunity to hop on a train and head to the Mill Avenue station in Tempe to get an overview of the new streetcar project. While there they will discuss station identity, urban design, transit as a placemaker, and transit-oriented development along Mill Avenue and along the Ash Avenue loop. Some cool stuff, for sure.
Time: 9:00am-11:30am
Date: Saturday, May 5th
Event Start and End: Sycamore/Main Street Transit Center
Host Organization: METRO
Registration: Please RSVP to Lisa Procknow at lprocknow@metrolightrail.org.
Accessibility: This event is accessible and welcoming to wheelchairs, bicycles, seniors, and children.
METRO has also created a Facebook invite for the Jane Jacob’s Walk. Check out this info from their invite:
“Discover the value transit can play in helping to create “place.” Rail has proven abilities to generate interest and development in areas where it is constructed. It is also means to creating a pedestrian-friendly, urban environment and a sense of community. An expert team of city officials, transit-oriented development (TOD) professionals and arts connoisseurs are coming together to provide a transit and walking tour of the Central Mesa light rail extension and Tempe Streetcar. Attendees will learn about station identifies to enhance the existing environment, art and architecture concepts and future development opportunities along these routes” – METRO light rail
This will be a great opportunity for people to learn more about the projects, talk about transit-oriented developments, and to see what living, working and playing near public transit has to offer.
I’m looking forward to checking out this walk and hope to see you there, Rockin’ the Rail Life! 🙂
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