Tucson Medical Center
Submitted by:
Jack B. Jewett, Senior Vice President, Public Policy
Frank D. Alvarez, President & Chief Executive Officer
We urge you to vote “YES” on Question 1 and 2 on May 16. The improvements in the Regional Transportation Plan are vital to the safety and health of our community.
More than 80,000 people visit the 24-hour emergency department at Tucson Medical Center each year – more than any other ED in Southern Arizona. We also have the region’s only emergency department specifically for children, and we treat more heart and stroke patients than any other area hospital. However, getting to the Medical Center is becoming harder and taking longer because of transportation delays.
The Tucson Medical Center campus is centrally located on East Grant Road between Swan and Craycroft. The roads, intersections and buses that lead to the Medical Center are crowded and in need of many safety improvements. Daily, ambulances and those in need of emergency medical care are delayed by traffic congestion. Sometimes they are delayed few minutes, sometimes a few seconds. But that can make all the difference when someone is suffering from a stroke, heart attack, or other critical injuries.
This great city deserves better. And we can do something about the dangerous traffic delays, before it becomes even worse.
The Plan will allot $160 million to improve Grant Road. Implementing the plan will expand this key east-west road in the urban core of Tucson to six lanes between Oracle and Swan, improve the safety of intersections, eliminate flooding of the Grant Road underpass, and increase the frequency of bus routes in this region.
Business and neighborhoods in the region will have several years to give significant input to shape the final plan before construction starts.
We have a great opportunity before us. Join us in voting “YES” to improve the safety and health of our entire region.
