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Check out the new Living Streets Alliance website!
For a nonprofit that prides itself on "making the possible visible", you'd never know it based on a website designed back in 2011. So, without further ado, we're delighted to share our new website, which should make it easy to see exactly what Living Streets Alliance does, and how.
Have a look!
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Three months in, here's what South Tucson neighbors are saying about Shared Streets
South Tucson residents have been experiencing a change on South 8th Avenue as Shared Streets (Calles Compartidas) has taken hold over the last three months, welcoming residents to experience the one and a half miles of neighborhood streets at a slower pace. Modeled after similar slow streets programs that took hold in the wake of the pandemic, signs and barricades have converted South 8th Avenue as a public space for families and neighbors to walk, bike, or scoot along. Over the course of the last few weeks, we have heard from countless neighbors. Not only have those conversations been about listening to feedback about the program, but already their collective stories are beginning to shape a vision for their neighborhood streets.
Read more >>
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Comings and goings
As we head into the new year, we'd like to take a moment to celebrate and thank some of the great people that make up the LSA Team. True to 2020 trends, the past year has marked a number of transitions for staff. We were joined in March by two Public Allies service members, River Missal and Jenny Granados, who were part of the inaugural Livable Communities Corps, a joint initiative led by Public Allies and AARP. As one of five service sites across the country, they helped LSA pivot as soon as they came on board, doing research, brainstorming new directions for virtual programming and engagement, and helping out on the ground with South Tucson Shared Streets. Their fellowship concluded at the end of December and we're excited to see what they do next. Thank you, Jenny and River!
After four years, Colby Henley, LSA's Bicycle Program Manager decided to retire and move on to new and different adventures. You'll likely see him around town on his electric bike, looking especially happy and care-free. Colby was a huge part of the LSA team, running a seamless Mobile Bike Repair program and joyfully guiding and coordinating hundreds of Cyclovia Tucson volunteers and super volunteers each year, among other things. He will be greatly missed, but it also makes us smile thinking of him now having more time to spend with his grandkids and family. Ride on, Colby!
And, we're incredibly excited to welcome Valerie Sipp to the team as our first-ever Manager of Operations. Valerie is a native Tucsonan who brings a wealth of experience in the nonprofit world as well as a background in the arts. Join us in welcoming, Valerie, and you can learn more about her here.
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Mobile Bike Repair
Wednesday, January 27 from 2:00-4:30pm
Los Amigos Technology Academy
2200 E Drexel Road
We're pleased to offer FREE bicycle repair clinics in partnership with the City of Tucson Bicycle & Pedestrian Program. We bring the tools, basic replacement parts, and youth helmets right to you, so you can get your whole family ready to ride.
Note: Living Streets Alliance is strictly following CDC Guidance, so bike repair is currently by appointment only. Register here, or contact Ramzy to reserve your time: ramzy@livingstreetsalliance.org / 425-827-2637
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Blacklidge Bicycle Boulevard Virtual Town Hall
Wednesday, January 27 at 6pm
Join at this link or by calling (213) 293-2303 (Conference ID: 496 882 141#)
The Blacklidge Bicycle Boulevard project uses a low volume neighborhood street to expand our citywide low-stress biking network by creating an east/west route to jobs, neighborhood destinations, schools, and parks. The planned and funded project extends from Oracle Road to McCormick Park (Columbus Boulevard) for a total of 4.5 miles, connecting to 5 parks and 4 schools.
This project is identified in the City of Tucson Bicycle Boulevard Master Plan and funded by Proposition 407, a bond package approved by voters to fund improvements to parks and construction of new bicycle and pedestrian routes.
If you walk, bike, roll, or live in the project area, we invite you to join the town hall to learn more about the proposed improvements and share your thoughts.
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Goodbye to 2020, a Truly Unimaginable Year for Sustainable Transportation
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This article provides a must-read recap of what a year 2020 was regarding sustainable transportation and streets as public spaces. We really encourage you to take your time and click on the embedded links for a full review of what the pandemic has revealed–or simply reinforced– from our shifting notions of commuting to the grave manifestations of racism in our streets.
As the article states, "if 2020 showed us how easily our world can change, 2021 should be the year where we begin to radically reimagine what our streets could be — from the way we police them, to how we build them, and who we put at the center of our planning decisions, and at the head of our planning departments themselves."
(Image: Creative Commons}
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‘Slow Streets’ Disrupted City Planning. What Comes Next?
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Many cities across the U.S., including Tucson, rolled out "Slow Streets" programs as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of these initiatives faced fierce community opposition mainly because of their failure to engage marginalized communities and continuing the legacy of top-down planning.
As the article points out, Slow Streets initiatives "hit a sore spot in a uniquely sensitive moment: As a pandemic claimed Black and Brown lives at disproportionate rates, and outrage over police killings ignited global protests, slow streets became a flashpoint in the planning sphere’s broader reckoning over systemic racism."
{Image: Bryan Miller, Front Runner Productions}
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Priorities for a New Administration
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Often times, when it comes to transportation policy, we get hyper-focused on local issues and overlook the conversations happening at the federal level. Nevertheless, federal transportation policies and priories have profound implications for cities and towns across the country.
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) outlined a list of priorities for the upcoming administration to facilitate pandemic recovery, to overhaul federal design standards for improved safety, and more.
As stated in the NACTO recommendations, "transportation connects people to opportunities, and nothing is more critical to a just recovery than our mobility systems. Investing in cities and transit is the best way to revive the economy quickly and ensure resources and prosperity reach communities most harmed by the pandemic."
{Image: NACTO}
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The mission of Living Streets Alliance is to advocate for a thriving Tucson by creating great streets for all of us.
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