It’s time for equitable representation in transportation decision-making at the regional level

(Note: The following is a statement shared by LSA during the call to the public at the January 27th 2022 PAG Regional Council meeting.)

This morning I looked at the Daily Star, betting that there would be at least one headline about a traffic crash because there almost always is. And sure enough there was, this one about a man trying to get across a wide roadway by foot on Tucson’s southside, and not making it. This man is now the 11th person lost on our streets already just this year and we’re not even a month in.

Tucson’s streets have become increasingly unsafe for everyone using them: people in cars, people on foot, people on bikes and on motorcycles. I not only think of that poor man’s family, I also think of the shock and horror for the person driving and the fact that they now have to live with knowing they unintentionally took someone’s life as they live out the rest of theirs.

And I’m here to tell you that crashes like this have a lot to do with the RTA. I know because as someone who has spent the past decade working with Tucson communities I’ve heard over and over the kinds of things that people want and need to get around safely: traffic calming, lighting, safe crossings, push-button signals. Every single Tucson Council Member has heard these kinds of requests and I’ve witnessed the Department of Transportation’s frustration with an inability to do anything despite knowing exactly what could be done and it all has to do with money.

When the RTA Board decided in 2014 to reduce categorical funding and sweep ALL other non-RTA transportation revenue coming into our region to complete the major roadway projects, it completely destroyed the City’s ability to respond to the crisis unfolding within its streets. Federal money could have been funding safety and education programs in schools these past eight years, giving youth skills to be safe while walking and biking, and to also be safer drivers when they’re of age. Instead, those same funds went to finish more wide roadways that re-create the same unsafe conditions that put every one of us at risk, everyday.

And Tucsonans weren’t even consulted when the decision was made. They certainly did not vote on it. To me, that is definitely not a promise delivered.

This morning I also read an exciting announcement about major federal transportation funding heading our way to build complete streets that feel safe and ARE safe for people. Based on RTA’s track record I have little confidence that that money will see its intended use.

Tucson Mayor Romero and Council are right to request weighted representation. They’re doing their job to prevent further taxation without representation. When their voice isn’t loud enough, when the majority of the population is not equitably represented in this decision making process, it results in a misalignment of what people need and what gets built, and ultimately, here in Tucson, it results in more unnecessary loss of life.

I encourage you to take Tucson’s request seriously. That curbing death on our streets is of “regional value” should be obvious to everyone.