Business owners take sides on light rail in Mesa

Plans to extend public mass transit to and through downtown Mesa drew mixed reaction from business owners this week.Both positive and negative views were expressed during a two-hour public forum Thursday attended by more than 60 people at the East Valley Institute of Technology.

The overall message given by a panel of business people that endured construction of the existing 20-mile light-rail line is that a future route through downtown Mesa ultimately would be an economic boom to the city.

Click to view a map of the proposed options

Construction work on the line at first caused loss of some income at his bookstore, said Vic Linoff, owner of Those Were the Days on Mill Avenue in Tempe and one of four business owners on a panel invited to speak by Valley Metro Light Rail.

"But you've got to keep your eyes on the prize," he told the audience, adding that with gas prices going up, the use of public transit will increase dramatically. "There's a huge benefit on the other side."

He predicted sales lost during the construction will return and increase as public transportation becomes more popular.

But Kathy Adam, owner of Pete's Fish & Chips, 22 S. Mesa Drive, disagreed.

"We lost half of our business at our Tempe restaurant during that light-rail construction and I'm not ready to endure more losses in Mesa," Adams said.

George Notarpole, owner of History By George, a military collectables store at 129 W. Main St. in Mesa, said he, too, is opposed to adding mass public transit through downtown Mesa.

"I don't want to be put out of business," Notarpole said.

David Johnson, another panelist and owner of Watson's Flowers, 2525 W. Main St., said he had initially opposed light rail along Apache Boulevard and Main Street in Tempe and Mesa.

"For the past seven years, I have been light rail's biggest opponent," said Johnson, whose family opened the flower shop in 1927. "Now, I'm light rail's biggest proponent."

Although his business dropped initially during construction and he was forced to open another smaller shop in Gilbert to off-set the loss, the light-rail line had another positive effect on the community and his business.

"Drug dealers and prostitutes left the area during construction and haven't returned," Johnson said.

Homa Mamoop, another panelist and owner of Tasty Kabob, 1250 E. Apache Blvd. in Tempe, said her small restaurant at first lost customers, too.

"It was a hard time, but the end result was excellent," Mamoop said. "A lot of our customers are coming back."

Laurent Teichman, owner of Le Studio Salon de Beaute, 47 W. Main St. in Mesa, said he favored a light-rail plan, but only if it is designed properly.

"It should have equal flow on both the north and south side of Main Street and not be a scar in the middle of the street," the hair dresser said.

The public forum was sponsored by Valley Metro, Downtown Mesa Association, West Mesa Community Development Corporation and Mesa Community College.

Six plans for either light-rail lines or bus mass transit lines are being considered, including a light rail line that avoids downtown Mesa by using either First Street or First Avenue, rather than heavily traveled Main Street.

The area under study is bounded by Sycamore on the west, Power Road on the east, University Drive on the north and U.S. 60 on the south.

The six proposed plans eventually will be narrowed to one and will be presented to the City Council for a final decision probably next year, according to city transportation officials.