The so-called conventional wisdom is that Scottsdale doesn’t want light rail.

Certainly, that once was true, and any big push to construct light rail on Scottsdale Road through the heart of the city likely still would meet resistance from some business owners and residents.

But a link from the coming Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center at Scottsdale and McDowell roads south to a Tempe spur makes some sense, at least on the surface, and the city is smart to take a more detailed look at it.

Scottsdale is ready for it.

We suggested that a Scottsdale-Tempe connection, at least as far north as McDowell Road, was a reasonable idea to explore even before the ASU redevelopment plan for the old Los Arcos Mall was revealed. And some brave City Council candidates talked favorably about it during the 2004 campaign season.

It has taken awhile, but the idea has finally gotten a little traction. The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce is taking a bolder stance on light rail.

The world has changed a lot since the Scottsdale council’s last big light-rail debate on Feb. 25, 2003. That’s when the then-council barely had enough votes to name Scottsdale Road the city’s preferred “rapid-transit corridor” for regional-planning purposes. “Rapid transit” could mean light rail, buses or other transportation modes, but some on the council wanted to drive a stake through the heart of light rail.

Fortunately, a majority of the council wisely kept an open mind. The 4-3 vote kept Scottsdale’s options open.

Since then, the ASU Innovation Center concept was approved and is moving forward. A full-blown revitalization of south Scottsdale is under way. A link from the Scottsdale business and academic complex to the university’s main Tempe campus is essential.

City Manager Jan Dolan, who is not a huge fan of inflexible, fixed-rail transportation, said the council needs to make a policy decision on whether mass transit or redevelopment is the priority. She said buses might work better in terms of actually moving people but light rail might help from a redevelopment standpoint.

That cuts to the heart of one of light rail’s little secrets: It attracts new investment around it and is a good way for cities to clean up blighted areas.

Take a look at the Tempe and Phoenix routes. The light-rail network cuts through neighborhoods and follows streets long in need of revitalization. One could make an argument that, from the taxpayers’ perspective, light rail is an overly expensive way to do this, but it does seem to be having the desired effect elsewhere in the Valley.

Scottsdale Road north of McDowell Road is reinventing itself. From a revitalization aspect, light-rail construction probably would just get in the way and possibly even stall the momentum. Mass transit still is needed downtown and elsewhere, but perhaps other forms would work better.

But south of McDowell, a light-rail line could jump-start the long-needed rehabilitation of the barren no-man’s land between north Tempe and south Scottsdale. Mayor Mary Manross and the council should think about it.

Light rail, at least to Scottsdale and McDowell roads, is an idea worth considering. In the end, maybe it won’t be feasible, but the city at least needs to know the facts and the details. Good for the chamber for climbing on board.

We suspect that, like Scottsdale business leaders, most residents are much more open-minded about light rail and mass transit than some politicians might expect.