Scottsdale: Light Rail Not Ruled Out October 17th, 2007
by Brian Powell, East Valley Tribune, 17 October 2007
A new report concludes that light rail, modern streetcar and bus rapid transit should all still be considered along Scottsdale Road through downtown…
The eagerly anticipated high-capacity transit feasibility study, released by the city on Tuesday, says the three options should be studied further… if light rail is selected to run between the Tempe border and Chaparral Road, it should not travel through downtown on Scottsdale Road, but rather along Drinkwater or Goldwater boulevards until it can reconnect with Scottsdale Road… There is also an option to have light rail [terminate] at SkySong at McDowell Road.
The report, part of the $1.1 million update to the city’s Transportation Master Plan, is scheduled to be presented to the Scottsdale Transportation Commission on Thursday, and the City Council during a study session on Tuesday. It has been the most contentious part of the plan update, which has studied streets, bikes, pedestrians and other forms of transit…
Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce President Rick Kidder said he had not seen the report, but said the group still favors light rail or streetcar…
Rest of the story at: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99779
Tucson set to approve streetcar route March 24th, 2007
Tucson’s modern streetcar project… is approaching the end of its gestation period… The City Council is scheduled to vote March 27 on what is called “the locally preferred alternative route.”
The route begins near Helen Street and Campbell Avenue, just south of University Medical Center. It will head south on Cherry Avenue to Second Street and the Main Gate shopping district, then go west on University Boulevard and south on Fourth Avenue.
From there it will go under the new and as-yet-unbuilt Fourth Avenue underpass. The streetcar will then head west on Congress Street and end up west of Interstate 10 in the cultural campus now under construction near the base of “A” Mountain…
