Is light rail right for South Phoenix?

Valley rail planners are asking a million-dollar question: Would south Phoenix residents ride a light-rail line enough to justify building one? Valley Metro, the agency that built and runs the 20-mile starter light-rail line, is weeks away from picking a consultant to provide the answer. Armed with a $400,000 congressional earmark and $100,000 from the city of Phoenix, Metro expects to hire a consultant by March and spend 18 months figuring out if spending many millions of dollars on a rail line in south Phoenix makes sense. The feasibility study is significant because it's the first time Metro has shown interest in a light-rail route not included in the original Proposition 400 plan, which levied a sales tax of a half-cent per dollar in Maricopa County to pay for transportation improvements. Consultants will evaluate a potential line along South Central Avenue to Southern Avenue, an area at times left behind in regional transportation investments.

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