If some Tempe businesses have their way, another light rail station will be added to northern Tempe.
The new station would be located at Washington Street and Center Parkway, just north of Tempe Town Lake, and would benefit students, said Julie Mitchell, with investor relations at Trillium Apartments at Rio Salado.
Mitchell attended a City Council meeting last month where Trillium and other businesses discussed adding the new station.
"It would be great," she said. "I do think it would help out students and business people alike."
Many students reside in the 466 apartments located at Trillium, Mitchell said.
The next closest station for Trillium residents will be located at Washington Street and Priest Drive, a quarter of a mile farther from ASU, she said.
The biggest obstacle that businesses will face is funding, Mitchell said, since the station is not included in the original construction plans.
For now, businesses must wait for the city to make a decision on the station, said John Farry, government and community relations director for Valley Metro Light Rail System.
But the first step is for Valley Metro to estimate the cost, he said.
"We don't know exactly how it is going to be funded yet," Farry said.
Businesses will most likely make contributions in order to pay for the new station, Mitchell said.
The original budget planned for 27 stations; adding another station means increased cost, Farry said. According to a March 2005 State Press article, the light rail was slated to cost $1.3 billion.
Booming business in the area surrounding the potential station has created a need for another stop on the light rail route, Mitchell said.
"When they first started talking about building stations in 2002, there wasn't a lot out there," she said. "Since then there has been a lot more growth in the area."
If the city approves the station, Farry said surrounding businesses hope to have it completed in 2008, when light rail construction is set to be completed.
"We think the station would be a benefit to the project," he said. "We definitely would see an increase in ridership because of it."
An additional stop would especially aid students in commuting to ASU's Tempe and Downtown campuses, Farry said.
Travel and tourism senior Jussi Santa, who lives at Trillium, said the station would be a tremendous benefit to students.
"All my friends that live there said they'd use it," he said.
He said his friends would choose the light rail as opposed to driving or riding the bus.
Although he currently drives to school, Santa said it's often difficult to make it through traffic.
"I think the light rail is a good idea because there is always so much traffic," he said. "It's virtually impossible to get to campus."
Santa said he thinks the light rail will improve transportation statewide.
"If they can set the example, maybe other cities in the West will follow," he said.
Reach the reporter at kelsey.perry@asu.edu.
