Phoenix business owners want more light rail

Businesses see great potential

Steve Hawley, Mar 09, 09.

An influential group of Phoenix business owners is pushing for the local transit agency to build light rail near their businesses, according to the Arizona Republic. The article notes that the initial construction “scared off scores of shoppers, [and] many struggling downtown merchants considered the $1.4 billion line more of a curse than a blessing.”

Now, only three months after the light rail entered service, business owners see light rail as an opportunity to lure new customers. Valley Metro Rail is planning to expand the system by 2019, and it is considering several proposed routes to connect West Phoenix, the state capitol, and downtown. The business owners, who belong to the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, gathered to encourage the agency to build light rail close to their businesses.

The article notes, “Metro recently announced that initial daily light-rail ridership was nearly 20 percent higher than expected. About 30,000 boardings - one-way trips - are made each day. If a business is located near the future light-rail line, those trains could bring thousands of potential customers.”