Phoenix awarded federal grant money for proposed light rail extension
Oct 13, 2016, 5:20 AM | Updated: 10:49 am
(Facebook/Valley Metro)
(Facebook/Valley Metro)
PHOENIX — One of Phoenix’s light rail projects is getting assistance from the federal government. The goal is to help out businesses along the proposed path of the new South Central extension.
The city of Phoenix was awarded $2 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). It is part of $14.7 million in grants being distributed to public transit projects throughout the country.
The city of Phoenix plans to use the money to help businesses and the community along the proposed line prepare for upcoming construction.
“While construction might be a few years away, we want to make sure that we take advantage of this time to understand their business resources [and] understand their business needs,” said Albert Santana, city of Phoenix director of high capacity transit. “We want to do everything we can to be partners and support our business community as we prepare for this extension to start to be built.”
The grant money will also let the city plan for more development along the new line and improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
The proposed extension will run from downtown Phoenix to Central Avenue and Baseline Road in south Phoenix. It will have stops at Buckeye Road, Broadway Road and Southern Avenue along with other streets in the area.
Trains are expected to start running in south Phoenix in 2023.
