Downtown Phoenix's Central Avenue light rail hub near Van Buren Street soon could be named after former Phoenix Mayor and current U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, a longtime advocate for light rail in the Valley.
Mayor Kate Gallego, Vice Mayor Debra Stark and councilmembers Jim Waring and Carlos Galindo-Elvira wrote to City Manager Jeff Barton on Monday requesting the hub be named the "Greg Stanton Central Station."
The council leaders said it was a "fitting" name for the man whose leadership made Transportation 2050 possible. Transportation 2050 is the voter-approved tax that funds transit service in Phoenix. It was passed in 2015.
Stanton, who was mayor at the time and running for re-election, said it was critically needed to keep up with population growth and to promote Phoenix as a city that thinks ahead.
The hub, which includes two light rail stations and a bus depot, is part of a larger Central Station redevelopment project currently under construction. The project includes two residential towers and about 70,000 square feet of office space, as well as ground-floor commercial space for retail and restaurants throughout the development.
The council members' letter praised Stanton, a Democrat, for promoting the transit tax during his 2015 re-election year.
"It’s not typical for elected officials to push for a sales tax increase as they seek re-election, but voters said yes to both Stanton and his transportation agenda," the letter says.
The City Council was slated to vote on the proposal May 15.