By Jessica Boehm and Pamela Ren Larson | Arizona Republic
Phoenix leaders have celebrated the results of last month’s citywide election as a proof that residents still overwhelmingly support the Phoenix light-rail extensions voters first supported in 2015.
But some of these same city leaders all but killed one voter-approved extension in west Phoenix six months ago — with virtually no public input.
The council called it a “delay,” but made it clear that the intent was to kill the project — which would have continued the current track down Camelback Road past Grand Canyon University from 19th Avenue to 43rd Avenue — and instead use the funds for road repairs. It was slated to open in 2026.
An Arizona Republic analysis of election results shows that voters in the precincts surrounding the delayed west Phoenix line supported light rail in the August election at levels even higher than the city average.
