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Farewell and a huge thank you to two Living Streets Alliance all-stars
If you’ve worked with LSA in any capacity over the past six years, you’ve no doubt had the good fortune to work with Kylie Walzak and/or Vanessa Cascio. These two amazing women have been fierce, generous, and steady members of the LSA team through thick and thin, contributing their creativity, courage, and passion for transportation advocacy in everything they do.
This month they head off to pursue and share those same passions in new and bigger arenas. Read about their new adventures on our website and please join us in thanking them for their HUGE contributions to the people and communities of Tucson in their time here at Living Streets Alliance. They will certainly be missed and we're excited to see them elevate transportation advocacy in bigger and entirely new ways in their new roles. Good luck, Vanessa and Kylie—Tucson is rooting for you!
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And now, an exciting announcement: We're hiring!
While we're processing all the emotions that come with saying goodbye to two very special co-workers who have been an integral part of our small and mighty team, we're also excited to announce that we'll be hiring three new people. It's a rare moment in LSA's history to have this many open positions all at once and we hope you'll help us get the word out to folks who might be interested in joining the LSA team as Communications Coordinator, Safe Routes Coordinator, or Open Streets Coordinator.
Details of all three positions are available on our website and we'll be accepting applications on a rolling basis through the end of March.
Check it out! >>
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Reflections and gratitude as South Tucson Shared Streets wraps up
After six months of experiencing a slower pace on South 8th Avenue, Shared Streets (Calles Compartidas) will be coming to a close at the end of this month. With Calles Compartidas, the traffic barriers and signage sparked curiosity among residents who were largely unaware that permanent improvements will be coming to this corridor through Proposition 407. The very tangible and temporary fixtures to slow traffic and welcome people to the street became an opportunity for residents to envision the potential of more permanent improvements. Leading with their own voices, residents have shared with us the value of safe, healthy streets in “Barrio Libre” (the name residents use to refer to South Tucson) in order to maintain a sense of connection to one another. Documentarian and community activist, Gene Martinez recorded a few of those stories, interviewing residents like Alicia and Francisco Robles who have diligently monitored the barricades, talked with neighbors, collected feedback, and even created their own artistic signage. Watch here to hear their story.
The end of the program does not mark the end of the conversation though. In fact, it's only the beginning as LSA will be leading focused outreach of the design and implementation of the permanent bike boulevard features on South 8th Avenue in the coming months. This next phase will be the chance to bring on-the-ground improvements in a way that respects the stories and lived experiences of the residents who call this place home.
If you haven't visited the area in a while, we invite you to take a ride over to South 8th Avenue before the end of March, when the traffic-calming barricades come down. Combine that with the El Paso & Southwestern Greenway and you can create a fun loop route to explore with the whole family!
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Creating Vibrant Communities Webinar
Wednesday, March 10th from Noon-1:00pm
Each year, Arizona Town Hall releases a Background Report with content provided by subject experts from around the state. LSA's Executive Director, Emily Yetman, contributed to the section on transportation and you can hear her and others explore the topic of "Creating Vibrant Communities" in a live webinar this month. Emily will be joined by:
- C.J. Hager, Director of Healthy Communities, Vitalyst Health Foundation;
- Will Humble, Executive Director, Arizona Public Health Association;
- Jesus Rivera, Battalion Chief, Surprise Fire-Medical Department;
and the whole event will be moderated by Jon Ford, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Vitalyst Health Foundation.
Find out more and register here.
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Save the date: Arizona Gives Day
Tuesday, April 6th
Make sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 6th, Arizona Gives Day. This is a day to support the nonprofits you care about and help them win additional cash prizes throughout the day. We're planning some special surprises for April 6th, so stay tuned. More details to come!
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Take the Tucson Climate Action Plan survey
The City of Tucson is inviting the community to complete a survey to kick-start the process of developing Tucson’s Climate Action Plan. This input will help create a roadmap to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and respond to and prepare for the increasing impacts of climate change. The goal is to improve the city’s environmental and sustainability practices while increasing Tucsonans' quality of life for decades.
A 2019 report by Climate Central ranked Tucson as the third fastest warming city in the United States. In response, last fall, Mayor Regina Romero issued a climate emergency declaration that committed the city to putting in place a 10-year climate action plan.
The survey is accessible at this link and will be open until the end of May. We encourage you to take a look at the short piece in our "Reads" section regarding increased transit service as a way to reduce carbon emissions before you fill out to survey!
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Image source: Smart Growth America
Support the Complete Streets Act
(Note: much of the following content comes from Smart Growth America / National Complete Street Coalition's recent call to action)
Last week, Senator Edward J. Markey (MA) and Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) re-introduced the Complete Streets Act, which does three basic things:
- Sets aside federal funds to support Complete Streets projects (five percent of annual federal highway funds)
- Requires states to create a program to provide technical assistance and award funding for communities to build Complete Streets projects
- Directs localities to adopt a Complete Streets policy that meets a minimum set of standards to access that dedicated funding
The federal Complete Streets Act is modeled on a landmark law in Massachusetts that has catalyzed the adoption of nearly 200 local Complete Street policies and implementation plans and funded over 100 safety projects in just three years. The cumulative effect is safer roads for everyone—no matter whether they’re walking, biking, scooting, taking transit, or driving.
This bill is the product of more than a decade of work by the National Complete Streets Coalition and Smart Growth America. Urge Congress to pass the Complete Streets Act this year to create safer, healthier, and more equitable communities. Take action at the following link:
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/the-complete-streets-act-is-back/
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Can a Land Bridge Restore What a Black Community Lost?
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With the funding provided through 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act to establish an interstate highway system, state and local governments across the country deliberately routed new highways through Black neighborhoods, bulldozing homes, destroying businesses, and displacing residents which caused trans-generational harm and trauma within these communities.
The residents of the Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota first-hand experienced this tragedy and they have been advocating for a land bridge to restore some of their loss. “This project has the potential to show people what holistic restoration for the Black St. Paul community looks like,” said Keith Baker, executive director of Reconnect Rondo.
{Image: Reconnect Rondo}
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To Tackle the Climate Crisis and Racial Inequity, We Need to Run a Lot More Transit Service
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Public transit is a key component of tackling climate change and addressing racial inequities, yet federal transportation budgets don't reflect this as a priority. Historically, the vast majority of federal transit funding has supported capital projects, not operations. That finally changed last year in response to the pandemic and there's a strong case to be made for continuing federal support for transit operations.
"Transit service across America is sparse. Fewer than 10% of Americans currently live within walking distance of transit that comes every 15 minutes or less. As a result, the vast majority of people drive for every trip. That’s one reason transportation is the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Poor service affects Black Americans the most. Black workers are four times more likely to take transit than white workers."
Take a look at this video and the powerful maps to see what a 40% increase in service would mean for many Ameircans.
{Image: TransitCenter}
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To Meet Climate Goals, Think Outside the Electric Car
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There's been a lot of excitement building around the notion of moving everything to electric, and while that's great, this article helpfully points out that it electrification only addresses one part of the problem:
"Transportation contributes the largest (and still growing) share of carbon emissions in the U.S., and electrification is a critical requisite to a carbon-free future. But in order to achieve climate targets, the U.S. must significantly reduce its use of cars, period."
The truth is, cars take up space. TONS. And the more cars we have, the more asphalt we have, which is both costly to maintain and contributes to urban heat island. Let's think outside the box and include electrification along with a whole range of options and incentives to make our country less auto-dependent. This is a good ready from Bloomberg CityLab—make sure to check it out!
{Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe}
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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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