Overview

The Grand Avenue Rail Project (GARP) seeks to return a historic streetcar line to Lower Grand Avenue in downtown Phoenix. GARP recognizes an opportunity to attain this goal by creating a coalition of organizations and entities that have complementary needs that would be satisfied by such a project. Among these, the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Association (GAMA) wishes to improve and vitalize the business climate along Lower Grand Avenue. The Arizona Street Railway Museum (ASRM) has the goal of restoring historic streetcars and running them as a public attraction. Their current location has recently been acquired by the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Department, which may find the Street Railway Museum to be an incompatible use for their site. Other City departments have an interest in furthering diversity of transit options, and in encouraging the revitalization of downtown Phoenix generally. Lastly, the large swath of unused land controlled by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) beneath the I-10 overpass at Grand Avenue is an untapped resource. Bringing all of these entities together toward the re-establishment of street railway service on Grand Avenue could literally be a win-win-win-win-win scenario. As a multi-year, phased project with the cooperation of all of the stakeholders, the GARP might be an easily financed venture that would become another Phoenix “Point of Pride” and contribute to downtown redevelopment and economic opportunity.

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