Tucson Downtown Alliance
Submitted by:
Susan Ong, Chair
Roger Karber, Vice Chair
The approval of the RTA plan will benefit Downtown Tucson and the entire region.
Transportation improvements can be catalysts for economic development, and several elements of the RTA plan will trigger economic development in the central city by promoting density, fixing infrastructure, and improving accessibility.
The modern streetcar is much more than an alternative mode of urban transportation. In Portland, Denver, and other western cities, fixed-rail is a boon for dense, mixed-use urban development, the very type that is appropriate between the University of Arizona and Downtown.
Transit-oriented development (where people live, work, shop and have access to transit) helps create vibrant, walkable areas that are valued by residents and visitors alike.
The modern streetcar inspires developers to follow the example set by Portland’s Pearl District creating a great central city with a high quality of life.
Other corridor improvements are also essential to Downtown’s revitalization. Downtown is situated geographically at the end of two roads—Broadway and Barraza-Aviation Parkway—that dump through-traffic headed for I-10. Streets that should be pedestrian-friendly, sidewalk café-lined and attractive for the arts, entertainment and shopping are instead choked with trucks, buses, and cars trying to go elsewhere. We need alternatives for moving commuters and large vehicles through the area while we welcome those making Downtown their destination.
This is why the extension of the last segment of the Barraza-Aviation Parkway (Downtown Links) from its current dead-end at Broadway, to I-10 near St. Mary’s, is so important. The widening of 22nd Street to move through-traffic has long been supported by Downtown-area stakeholders.
RTA will help move Tucsonans and visitors to and through Downtown efficiently and allow us to create the lively Downtown that our beautiful desert city deserves.
Please vote YES on Questions 1 and 2.
