The Phoenix City Council voted Wednesday to delay — and likely kill — a light-rail line planned for west Phoenix. It will instead use the money for street repairs.

The line would have continued the current track down Camelback Road, connecting it to Grand Canyon University and ending at 43rd Avenue. It was slated to open in 2026.

In previous plans, the light rail was supposed to continue past 43rd Avenue and into Glendale. But in 2017, Glendale voted to nix its light-rail plan.

Lobbyists and former city council members Peggy Neely and Michael Johnson (who is currently running for city council) submitted a citizen petition asking the council to terminate or indefinitely suspend the west Phoenix line on behalf of a number of west Phoenix business owners.

Neely, Johnson and the business owners argued that without the Glendale continuation, the line was no longer viable. They called it a "train to nowhere."

The council voted 5-3 to grant their request. Council members Vania Guevara, Laura Pastor and Debra Stark voted in opposition.

Second 'delay'

This is the second light-rail extension that the council has delayed indefinitely.

In October, the council voted unanimously to postpone a line planned to connect downtown Phoenix to Paradise Valley Mall.

That line wasn't scheduled to open until 2036.

Council splits

The council members who ultimately voted to support the delay argued that the city's portion of the money that would have been used to plan and build the light-rail line will be better spent on road repairs.

The city's portion of the money earmarked for light-rail extensions comes from a $31.5 billion, 35-year transportation plan funded by a sales tax increase voters approved in 2015.

About 35 percent of the funding is currently dedicated to light-rail expansions, while 51 percent goes to buses and the remaining 14 percent to street repairs.

According to a study by city staff last year, 4,085 of the city's 4,863 miles of streets will fall below a "good" quality level in the next five years and require maintenance. Currently, 3,227 miles are already in fair, poor or very poor condition

Bringing all of the streets up to a "good" level in five years would cost $1.6 billion.

The delay will free up $153 million for road repairs, though the city will have to do an analysis to determine when those funds will be available, according to Phoenix Public Transit Department Deputy Director Ken Kessler.

The city also gets federal funds for light rail, which it could not put toward other city projects.

Councilwomen Guevara and Pastor argued that it was inappropriate to delay the line without any input from west Phoenix, where the line would have traversed.

Guevara, who represents the area, said she was disappointed in her colleagues for calling west Phoenix "nowhere."

Voters to decide other light-rail routes

This August, Phoenix residents will have another opportunity to vote on the future of all light-rail lines.

A group of light rail opponents called Building a Better Phoenix collected enough signatures to send the controversial public transit system back to the voters, asking them to end all light-rail expansion in Phoenix and instead divert the city money to other transportation improvements, like buses and road repairs.

The South Central extension spurred the Building a Better Phoenix initiative.

The group started as a collection of south Phoenix residents and business owners who were opposed to the extension, which is planned to reduce Central Avenue to two vehicle lanes.

Carlos Garcia, Johnson's council opponent, helped lead the community group that was opposed to the light rail if it decreased Central Avenue's traffic lanes.

The council had approved the two-lane plan in 2014, but some residents said they were not aware of the impact on lanes until last year.

The group went before the council multiple times this year to ask it to either kill the project or revise it to maintain four vehicle lanes. Ultimately, the council voted to proceed with the original plan and Building a Better Phoenix began the initiative process.

The Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America filed a lawsuit in January to get the initiative thrown off the ballot.

The complaint, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges the 100-word description that Building a Better Phoenix used to explain the initiative to petition-signers left out important details.

The complaint also says Building a Better Phoenix paid petition gatherers by the signature, which the contractors' group believes is illegal under state law.

A court hearing is scheduled for April.

What should be the future of light rail in Phoenix? Reach the reporter at 480-694-1823 or jessica.boehm@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS.