Future light rail extensions to Glendale in study phase

Glendale, AZ – Glendale is home to two professional sports franchises, an Air Force base and more than a few casinos, but not the Metro Light Rail.

Valley Metro introduced the light rail in December, 2008, with a 20-mile route extending from Mesa through Tempe, and into Phoenix.

The light rail is the first of its kind in the Valley.

Although effective in transporting Arizona State University students between campuses, fans to downtown Phoenix sports complexes and commuters going to work, the rest of the Valley has yet to feel its impact.

But Valley Metro has future extension plans in the works.

According to www.valleymetro.org, they plan to extend further into north Phoenix, further east into Mesa and west to Glendale between 2012 and 2030.

The Valley Metro board is already beginning to enter into a study phase of five different routes to the Glendale area, Metro Light Rail Public Information Officer Hillary Foose said.

Some of the proposed routes include one to historic downtown Glendale, one west along Interstate 10 and north on Loop 101, and one going along Glendale Avenue, Foose said.

Foose said that initial plans were to have the extension go directly to downtown, however after some uproar they decided to look into other options.

“Plans are still very preliminary at this point,” she said.

With different attractions and businesses throughout Glendale, authorities want to emphasize that the extension will be to help as many people as possible.

Jamsheed Mehta, Transportation Director for Glendale, said that the light rail expansion would focus more on the daily commuter rather than special event possibilities.

“It will be based a lot on what future travel demand is going to be,” Mehta said.

Mehta pointed out that there are obvious reasons for it to go to the Westgate City Center, a shopping and dining hub and home of Jobing.com Arena, but he said that may limit possibilities.

Local business owners in downtown Glendale support, for the most part, the light rail coming to their areas, but some still raise concern.

Kathy Munninger, owner of Kathy’s Corner Boutique in downtown Glendale, said the light rail would be convenient for tourists during their peak period from mid-October until March, but feels construction could negatively affect businesses near the construction.

She feels that while city officials who work downtown may have an easier commute if the light rail was extended, she isn’t sure if it would do more good or bad for the economy of the area.

However, Westgate City Center businesses support the idea.

“We have 100,000 square feet of meeting space,” Debbie Hill, Sales Assistant at Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa, said. “It would benefit the businessmen coming for meetings from downtown [Phoenix].”

Hill also said it would help with traffic after concerts, Arizona Cardinals games and Phoenix Coyotes games.

The Public Relations Director for Westgate City Center could not be reached for comment.

The Valley Metro will take all of these factors into consideration for their study, Foose said.

The extension to Glendale is expected to open in 2019.

Guest article contributed by Rachel Korchin, Student
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

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