TEMPE, Ariz. — Valley Metro is in the process of mapping out an extension for the Tempe streetcar, which would bring the line into Mesa.
The streetcar currently goes around ASU and Mill Avenue but stops and turns around at Mountain America Stadium on Rio Salado.
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The proposed extension would continue down Rio Salado to Sloan Park and Mesa Riverview, then turn south along Dobson to Main Street.
"Imagine being able to take the streetcar to like a Cubs spring training game or you know being able to go to Tempe Marketplace without fighting traffic," Valley Metro's Juliana Vasquez-Keating said.
“It will also connect to this to the light rail at Dobson and Main, so that that's the whole key we want to build a regional transportation network," said Vasquez-Keating.
At this point, there's only a loose plan, officials said. The route is not final, so there's no price tag.
Valley Metro officials said the study to define the scope of the project won't be done until the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
Without a route, there's no price tag, so there's no word on how it would be funded.
“They don't happen overnight," Mesa Transportation Director Jodi Sorrell said. "They can take decades or more to come together. So it's just really a planning process."
But Sorrell said it would probably involve federal money by way of grants, as well as other funding sources, if the project actually happens.
The project has yet to schedule any public input meetings, but officials said those are coming soon.
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