ASU students living in the East Valley may not find commuting to Tempe any easier come this fall, when the light rail is scheduled to only reach the Tempe/Mesa border.
Many students who are currently commuting to school said they wish the light rail would extend into the East Valley, to help save time and money.
The light rail is projected to run 20 miles — starting at 19th and Montebello avenues in Phoenix and extending to Sycamore and Main Street in Mesa —beginning in December 2008, according to Valley Metro's Web site.
Afton McAferty, a secondary education and English sophomore, said she would be more than happy to ride the rail if it were close to her neighborhood in east Mesa.
"I don't really know where the stops are going to be, but if it was close to my house, I definitely would [use it]," she said.
Valley Metro is currently studying the feasibility of extending the rail from its west-Mesa endpoint to the eastern end of the city, at Power Road, by 2015, according their Web site.
But Metro officials said in an e-mail that all commuters will benefit from the light rail, no matter what mode is finalized, and the light rail is just one option for that extension.
Some concerned students are trying to plan the most efficient way to commute from home to school.
Brandt Naito, a Mesa Community College Japanese major, said he lives at Higley and Ray roads and he will have to continue driving to school since the light rail will never reach his house.
"I'll be driving my vehicle every day because the light rail will not be in Gilbert," he said.
And Ronilyn Sloan, a painting sophomore at ASU, said she will continue to commute to school the same way she always has — by carpooling with her brother.
But Sloan said, although she may not get to hop on or off the rail on her way to and from school, the rail may still serve as a valuable means to get around town.
She added that she thinks it will open job opportunities for East Valley students who might want to work in Tempe.
"You may not see a whole bunch of people using it the first semester but, if people get used to having it there, I think a ton of people will end up using it," Sloan said.
Valley Metro representatives did not have an estimate for the number of students who might want to commute from the East Valley.
However, the company estimates that, in 10 years, the rail will have approximately 50,000 commuters per day, according to Valley Metro's Web site.
Beginning in December 2008, though, students will have the opportunity to catch the light rail near Sycamore and Main Street on the light rail's furthest-east extension.
Reach the reporter at: britnee.johnson@asu.edu.
