Valley Metro revealed design guidelines Wednesday for the 17 stops that will be built along the 2.6-mile Tempe Streetcar line, which will likely be up and running by 2016.
The streetcar will run from Rio Salado Parkway to University Drive along Mill Avenue. The Tempe City Council approved the stops in September 2011.
Valley Metro created the preliminary design guidelines and presented them to Tempe residents at a meeting Wednesday at the Tempe Transportation Center.
Tempe City Council plans to incorporate the community’s feedback before deciding on a final draft.
Alex Oreschack, a Maricopa County city planner intending to move to Tempe this year, is excited about the streetcar and wanted to see the design.
“This is going to be so convenient for anyone who lives near the streetcar, just for groceries and entertainment,” Oreschack said.
Designing streetcar stops is the fifth out of eight stages in the 10-year, $130 million project that began in 2007.
Valley Metro plans to engineer the streetcar based on the final designs and begin moving infrastructure in the fall, Tempe Streetcar project manager Ben Limmer said.
Deputy Community Development Manager of Tempe Transportation Planning Jyme Sue McLaren presented streetcar simulations at Wednesday’s meeting, showing potential landscaping, platforms and street parking.
Charles Auellmantel, a Tempe resident, has been going to streetcar meetings for two years and has an office downtown.
“I think we’re all here because we’re interested in the urban quality that can be created by the streetcar,” Auellmantel said. “I think they’ve done a great job taking care of the details.”
Designs from Portland and San Francisco influenced the guidelines, said Tad Savinar, a contract employee for Valley Metro who authored the Design Guidelines with the help of community members.
“We look for ways we can enhance the characters of these places,” Savinar said of how the design of each stop will fit into its location.
Residents have been encouraged to provide feedback on the guidelines that Savinar and a group of residents and business owners narrowed down after meeting for more than a year.
The group decided to use a lighted pole as a station identifier, setting it apart from other types of transportation, and narrowed canopy options to two versatile types. They still need to determine specifics, such as pavement types, Savinar said.
Valley Metro employees encouraged residents at the meeting to place sticky notes stating preferences on a poster of paving options.
The design guidelines suggested incorporating solar panels on canopies.
The next step for Valley Metro is to narrow the architectural design for developers, Savinar said.
Valley Metro anticipates breaking ground next year, said Howard Steere, Metro public involvement manager.
“I think we run into a balance between what we can afford and what we can serve,” Steere said.
Reach the reporter at michelle.peirano@asu.edu
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