Downtown Phoenix light rail hub could be named after this major light rail advocate

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.

Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

Republic reporter Corina Vanek contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix may name downtown transit hub 'Greg Stanton Central Station'