Phoenix’s Thriving Valley Metro System Looking at Westward Expansion

One of the largest light rail systems in the West is on the verge of becoming yet a little bit larger.

Members of the Phoenix City Council have now given a green light to a plan that will push the region’s Valley Metro system further west. Variations of that plan have been in the works for at least 5 years.

With a current ridership in excess of 10.7 million people, the Valley Metro transit system was launched in late 2008 and has in the years since steadily expanded, building both new tracks as well as more than forty stations.

The most recent expansion saw the completion of the Northwest Phase II project in January of this year, a project attracting more than $370 million in federal and regional funds.

Now work will see the building of transit infrastructure along Indian School Road, all the way to the Desert Sky Mall Transit Center at 7887 W. Thomas Road.

Matters that still remain to be determined include the locations of any new stations connected to the expansion, funding, and an implementation timeline.

The project will also need the approval of Valley Metro’s board of directors, as well as the Maricopa Association of Governments.

Once the project moves to the immediate pre-development stage, both Valley Metro and the City

By Garry Boulard

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