Mesa Mayor Scott Smith has been driven to expand commerce and job opportunities in Mesa since he took over last year. Yesterday Smith discussed with reporters his desire to expand the METRO light rail into Mesa. It is hard to fathom how the city spent millions on bringing museums to and cleaning up downtown and then have the light rail stop just short of downtown. The light rail has far exceeded expectations for the amount of commuters they have received so far and expansion into Mesa would not only give riders a chance to get to the renovated downtown Mesa, it would also allow commuters a chance to move along the rail and commute to downtown Tempe or Phoenix.
The light rail is not the only thing the Mayor wants to expand into Mesa. Smith also wants to bring some Cactus League spring training to the city. Smith has been busy courting the Cincinnati Reds from Florida and the D-Backs and Rockies from Tucson.
Expansion of light rail, the addition of the Gaylord Resort and spring training ball can all help Mesa grow in the future. Any reason to make Mesa more of a destination attraction will help grow jobs and make the city much more desirable to live in.
One response
The Main Street light rail extension could finally be the catalyst that brings downtown Mesa back to life. They have tried several things to bring development and awareness to this part of town and nothing has worked nearly as well as they had hoped.
Interestingly enough, downtown Mesa is ideal for “TOD” projects with it’s street facing shops and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, etc. The beautiful arts center, the museums, Pioneer Park and many of the great attractions in the area, as you say, will now be available to people that might not otherwise visit the area.
What a great fit. The economic development potential for that area is exciting.