The Phoenix City Council last week voted 7-2 to reevaluate plans to extend public transit into west Phoenix, opting to prioritize the development of a

transit route along Indian School Road

instead of the proposed

Valley Metro

light-rail extension from downtown Phoenix to the Arizona State Capitol.

The decision directs Valley Metro to halt all development and federal grant funding application processes related to the

Capitol Extension (CapEx) project

, Valley Metro officials said in a press release.

The transit agency will instead begin gathering input from stakeholders and residents to determine what type of transit would best suit the Indian School Road corridor — either light rail or bus — located north of the Arizona State Capitol.

The vote was scrutinized by one of the dissenting voters, City Council Member Anna Hernandez, for the delay it will cause in bringing transit to west Phoenix. It will take another two years to determine if the Indian School Road corridor is viable, before development of any kind can begin, she said

in an interview with a local news station

.

"Valley Metro remains committed to advancing high-capacity transit to west Phoenix to meet significant demand, support mobility in this corridor and to continue to deliver upon the community's vision for transit and transportation," Valley Metro officials said.

The CapEx project had been in the works since 2015,

according to a local news report

. Phoenix voters approved the extension route under the city's Transportation 2050 plan, but the project has faced open opposition from Republican state legislators due to its cost, estimated at more than $600 million.

Among other restrictive measures aimed at blocking the CapEx project, legislators included language in a Maricopa County sales tax ballot measure to prohibit the use of sales tax dollars for any light-rail extensions within 50 yards of the State Capitol, according to the report.

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