A rendering shows the completed elevated light rail station and transit center at Metrocenter, which will be named after former Phoenix Council member Thelda Williams (photo courtesy of Valley Metro).
In May, it was announced that the new transit center currently being built at Metrocenter will be named for former Phoenix District 1 City Council member Thelda Williams. The transit center will be located under the elevated light rail station, currently under construction, as part of the Northwest Light Rail Extension Phase II project, which runs 1.6 miles, from the light rail station at Dunlap and 19th avenues to Metrocenter’s elevated station. Light rail testing is anticipated to begin in early 2024 along this stretch of the light rail.
Williams served on the Phoenix City Council from 1989-96 and 2008-21 and is the only person to have been named interim mayor three different times (in 1994, 2012 and 2019). She also served as vice mayor, chair of the Transportation Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee, and chair of the Valley Metro Rail board.
The city says that Williams has been a strong proponent of Phoenix’s voter-approved (August 2015) transportation plan, Transportation 2050, which helps fund various key projects throughout the city through the year 2050. She played a key role in the city moving forward with the planning and construction of light rail, bus service expansion, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s expansion and operations and in the preservation of water resources and many street and other infrastructure projects.
Funding for T2050 comes from a 7/10ths of a cent city sales tax that started Jan. 1, 2016. Over the life of the plan, the funds are estimated to generate about $16.7 billion, or more than half of the plan’s overall cost. There will be an additional $14.8 billion in federal and county funds, passenger fares and other sources.
Learn more about Transportation 2050 at www.phoenix.gov/T2050.
