How the RTA Plan Preserves the Environment

April 3rd, 2006

We all want to live in a safe, beautiful, healthy community. This comprehensive, regional Transportation Plan will help us build that kind of community, now, and for generations to come.

Improved air quality

This Plan will reduce air pollution because it will give us more viable options besides just driving our cars and trucks and it will help reduce traffic congestion and idling times through better traffic flow.

We need to address our air quality problems before they get worse. Currently Tucsonans drive over 22 million miles a day. Approximately 60 percent of Tucson’s air pollution comes from on-road motor vehicles. Vehicles emit most of the substances that are the major cause of the brown cloud that hovers over Tucson.

With increasing congestion and stringent air quality regulations, the region eventually could face non-compliance issues. In 2003, Tucson was rated as the nation’s most challenging “hot spot” for asthma.

Having real options besides only driving will help us reduce air pollution.

This plan will make it easier to take the bus, use the new modern streetcar, or ride our bikes to get where we’re going. This Plan will revolutionize the Sun Tran bus system by expanding routes and hours and give us the Modern Streetcar in the urban core. This Plan will also give us 550 miles of additional bike lanes and paths, 250 miles of sidewalks, and 80 pedestrian crossings.

The plan also includes several strategies for reducing idling times. An idling car emits 12 times the amount of carbon monoxide pollution than one traveling at 30 mph. There will be 200 bus pullouts, 200 intersection improvements, and 10 improved railroad crossings. All of these improvements will help to reduce idling times and thus the toxins that clog our beautiful skies and our lungs.

Improved bicycle lanes

This plan allows for the addition of 550 miles of new bicycle lanes including 38 miles of shared use paths with pedestrians, inline skaters, runners, etc. Bicycle facilities off main arterial roads will provide safe and pleasurable bicycling experiences for both commuters and recreational riders.

Another major feature of the RTA plan is approximately $50 Million set aside for bicycle development and expansion, which is an unprecedented amount set aside for bicycle development in the history of our county.

In 2006, Bicycling Magazine named Tucson the No. 2 city for riding a bike. Implementing the improvements in the Plan could give us what we need to move toward being the best bicycling city in the United States.

Recycling will save taxpayers money

Many of the materials used for roadway projects in the Plan– asphalt, concrete, etc. – will be recycled from past projects. More than 80 percent of asphalt on road resurfacing and widening projects is reused. This saves taxpayers money and reduces demand on landfills.

More natural landscaping

Landscaping included in the Plan’s improvements would include desert vegetation that requires low water usage. Landscaping would be used in medians. Plants that provide shade would be used near bus shelters. Overall, landscaping would reduce the heat-island effect, a problem in urban areas due to heat retention in asphalt.

Protections for the Sonoran Desert

The Plan works with the values of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan to help us protect the desert eco-system and decrease sprawl.

The Plan includes $45 million for critical wildlife linkages. The linkages, which would eliminate or reduce barriers to wildlife, would allow wildlife to move safely throughout the region. This will also help to reduce accidents involving cars and animals. This innovative element of the Plan will make our roads less deadly for our native wildlife and for drivers.

The high-capacity modern streetcar will make it easier to get around the urban core of Tucson and make downtown a more attractive place to live. This will help reduce urban sprawl by building up the center of the community. The streetcar system allows the urban core to grow, without having to widen streets. Once the rails are laid, more streetcars can be added to the system to meet demand.

Modern streetcars are also better for the environment than buses because they are electric, don’t wear down roads, hold twice as many people and last about two times longer.

Environmental advocates support this plan, won’t you?

Groups like Families Against Cancer and Toxins, Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, and the Sonoran Institute and other environmental advocates have all officially endorsed this Plan.

This comprehensive Plan will help us take care of the environment and enhance the quality of life for those living in Pima County. Passing the Regional Transportation Plan on May 16 will be an important next step to building the kind of community we all want to live in, now and for generations to come

Entry Filed under: Home Page Feature, Public Transit, Balance, Widespread support, Bikes and peds, Environmental preservation