A special meeting of the Phoenix City Council has been called to mull the future of a planned light-rail expansion into a working class Latino and African-American community.
The meeting to discuss the 5.5-mile (8.9-kilometer) extension that voters approved several years ago will be at 2:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. Council members will review a three-month outreach effort to gather views on the current plan, which would eliminate two of four lanes on the Central Avenue thoroughfare.
Some business owners say that eliminating two car traffic lanes will hurt business and have called for all four lanes to be preserved.
City officials say that since June bilingual staff members have visited more than 5,000 homes, businesses and organizations and held six community meetings that drew hundreds of people.
