From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Park-ride lot will be Mesa's largest Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:47 PM Park-ride lot will be Mesa's largest 300 spaces near mall set for Aug. debut Art Thomason The Arizona Republic Oct. 12, 2005 12:00 AM As commuters climb aboard buses in increasing numbers, Mesa is on the verge of building its largest park-and-ride lot near one of the city's busiest freeway interchanges. The 7-acre accommodation will have more than 300 spaces and be built along the northern side of the Superstition Freeway between Power Road and Superstition Springs Boulevard, near Superstition Springs Center. It is the top-ranked site of 20 Valley locations studied by the Maricopa Association of Governments to support the regional express-bus system, said Jeff Martin, Mesa's assistant Development Services manager. Construction is to begin in February with a projected August completion. The lot's proximity to the freeway and to the communities of Apache Junction and Gilbert should attract more than enough commuters to build on Mesa's 9 percent increase in transit ridership during the past two years, said Kevin Wallace, the city's transportation planning administrator. Federal funds will pay for $2.1 million of the $3.5 million project. The remainder will come from the half-cent sales tax increase approved by Mesa voters in 1998 to finance quality-of-life improvements. Wallace said the lot will be Mesa's first major park-and-ride project and the first to be owned by the city. The five existing park-and-ride facilities in Mesa provide 138 parking spaces combined and are in the parking lots of businesses. Another large park-and-ride lot is to built by December 2008 near Main and Sycamore streets in west Mesa where the 20-mile Metro light-rail line will end. Access roads will link the Superstition Springs lot with the nearby regional mall and Power Road and Superstition Springs Boulevard. The lot will have lighting, sidewalks, lockers for eight bicycles; two kiosks, 16 benches and six trash containers. There will be no covered parking. The biggest benefit is energy savings and reducing congestion on city roads, Wallace said _____