By Chris Gabel | East Valley Tribune
It won’t happen any time soon, but city leaders want to bring light rail to Chandler.
Valley Metro, which operates the light rail system in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, already conducted a study at the behest of city officials on the feasibility of the mass transit system in Chandler, and another study is expected to begin next year.
It could be decades, however, until any light rail is up and running from downtown Chandler and connecting to the current system in Mesa.
“We’re talking IF,” said Dan Cook, Chandler transportation manager. “We have a long road to hoe and there are a lot of things that have to happen first. It took Phoenix 20 years to plan and implement the existing light rail system.”
That system has been so successful Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton recently called for the city to expand its light rail track by 17 miles in the near future.
If everything were to go right and each step completed on time, Cook said Chandler could have light rail in 15 years.
