Tempe streetcar expansion will give ASU students access to more of the city

Valley Metro secured a nearly $16 million federal grant for a Tempe streetcar expansion that will bring it into Mesa and add over four miles of rail.

ASU students and Tempe residents will soon be able to get to places like Tempe Marketplace and Mesa Riverview more easily.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff visited Tempe on July 19—two days before President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign—and took a ride on a Mill Avenue streetcar. The streetcar is about to expand services, thanks to funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed into law in 2021. The expansion has the potential to boost the local economy and help students and others get around the city.

Arizona State University is the largest public university in the country. Students from all across the US come to Tempe to attend school and explore newfound freedoms. A reliable public transportation system lessens the burden of students figuring out how to bring their car from other states.

It also lessens the burden for students who might otherwise pay for a parking space and maintain a car here in an already traffic-clogged corridor. A parking permit at ASU can cost anywhere from $280 to over $800 a year.

A 31-day pass from Valley Metro gives riders unlimited rides for $64 a month, or $32 with reduced fare. ASU students can get unlimited rides from mid-August to mid-May for $150.

Emhoff came to Tempe to speak in favor of public transportation expansions in Tempe and Mesa alongside Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, Mesa Vice Mayor Francisco Heredia, and Federal Transit Administration Regional Director Ray Tellis.

Valley Metro secured the nearly $16 million federal grant for a streetcar expansion that will bring it into Mesa and add over four miles of rail. The streetcar line on Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe will be connected to the light rail line at Dobson Road and Main Street in Mesa.

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“In just two years we’ve had over 10 million rides in our city,” Woods said.

An expansion east would likely add significantly more ridership, as it would pass Tempe Marketplace and Mesa Riverview, two large outdoor shopping complexes, as well as Sloan Park, where the Chicago Cubs play baseball during spring training.

More ridership means more Arizonans traveling to and from local businesses, boosting the local economies of Tempe and Mesa.

Increased investment in public transportation can lead to short- and long-term growth of the economy, according to a report from the American Public Transportation Association.

“This administration is committed to broad-based economic growth,” Emhoff said. “It is making historic investments in infrastructure. For generations to come we will have the benefit of these investments.”

“Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was passed, I’ve seen firsthand the progress made all across the nation in rebuilding and enhancing our infrastructure.”

Republicans have repeatedly opposed light rail and public transportation expansion. Federal grants have been a way for local leaders to circumvent the Republican-majority Arizona Legislature and give people more options for how they choose to travel.

Every seat in the state’s Legislature is up for election on Nov. 5.