It has taken a long time and caused a lot of traffic headaches but in some areas of town you can actually see light rail getting closer to being a reality. Parts of downtown Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa have concrete and rail in place, cable poles standing and the stations are growing benches and shades. I was stopped at a light near McClintock and Apache and noticed a huge construction site where the structure for the park and ride was being built. Along Washington St. in Phoenix they even have some landscaping in! We all know the project has a long way to go, but at least you can start seeing what it will really look like. Tempe is working on a Transportation Center near the Lumina luxury condo construction site which will serve as a hub between light rail and the Tempe In Motion and Flash bus lines. Naturally there is space set aside for some proposed retail shops, might as well pick up a cool drink while your waiting for the next train. When I took some clients to the top of 44 Monroe high rise condos you could see the workers putting the finishing touches in. Of course from the 34th floor they kind of looked like ants at the bottom of the anthill.
Understanding that it will be a long time before the light rail is actually moving people around Tempe and downtown Phoenix, it’s still nice to drive by some certain sections and see that the end of construction is in site.
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