WARD 3 FORUM ON RTA
JUNE 7, 2006
QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

REGIONAL TRANSPORATION AUTHORITY (RTA) / FUNDING

Q1: How can we sure that the Citizen Advisory Committee of the RTA will conduct business in an objective manner?

A: All meetings will be open to the public, and in that forum the actions of the Citizen Advisory Committee may be questioned.

Q2: Who is responsible if every RTA project is not completed on time and on budget?

A: The RTA is funding source for projects that will be managed in each jurisdiction, including the City of Tucson . Project allocations will be adjusted for inflation annually. Costs exceeding the amount provided by the RTA will be the responsibility of the jurisdiction.

Q3: Is other funding applicable such as state, county or federal dollars?

A: Other funds may be used in RTA corridors. The City of Tucson receives other allocations of such funds. In order to be used, such funds, including RTA funding, must be programmed into the Pima Association of Government's (PAG) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The PAG Board of Directors adopts the TIP after public hearing. In addition, it is expected that the City will program impact fees toward the RTA projects.

Q4: Can the RTA Board override local design decisions on the corridor?

A: Design decisions are likely to be the purview of the jurisdiction in which the project occurs. The alignment will be selected locally. However, it is likely that in order to change an alignment once one is selected, will require the approval of the RTA Board.

Q5: With other municipalities having a single vote on the RTA board, how will Tucson be represented fairly?

A: A Citizen oversight committee is proposed by the RTA to evaluate issues of accountability and equity.

PLANNING PROCESS

Q5: What are the opportunities to participate in the corridor planning process?

A: Several task forces will be formed to guide the planning process. While the specific make up has not yet been determined, it will most likely be several committees for different areas within the corridor, governed by an overall task force. The Mayor and Council will likely have final decision on who is on these committees.

Q6: Will neighborhoods be able to appoint their own representatives to corridor planning committees?

A: The specific details of how people will be selected to serve on committees is not precisely know at this time, but should be known by the end of the summer. The Council will have final say on the membership.

Q7: What decision-making authority will the corridor planning committee for Grant Road have? Will it be advisory or will it have “real” authority?

A: A citizens advisory committee will be established, however, as of the time of this writing, the specific composition of it has not been finalized. The committee will, however, act in an advisory capacity, with final decisions resting with the Mayor and Council.

Q8: Why is design waiting until 2009? Why not start much sooner?

A: While design funds are programmed in 2009, if the planning process is completed substantially before that time, it may be possible to request an advancement of RTA funds to begin work.

ROADWAY DESIGN

Q9: Is it true that in order to achieve 6-lane functionality, Grant Road would need to be widened to 8 lanes?

A: The RTA Plan calls for the widening of Grant Road to 6 vehicle lanes between Oracle and Swan Roads.

Q10: Will there be a grade-separated intersection at the corner of Grant and Campbell?

A: This would be a decision to be made as part of the corridor design process. However, this is very unlikely due to preferences expressed by Tucson voters in the past.

Q11: Will there be some sort of buffer added for residents on the North Side of Grant? Possibly something like the walls added on the Campbell Widening by UMC?

A: This is a question that will be addressed through the corridor planning process. All of the alternatives for buffering in specific locations will be addressed through that process. It is possible that in some locations people will prefer having stores and shops as an active buffer as opposed to a sound wall. In other locations, a greenway or park-like setting might be preferred.

Q12: What will specifically be done about keeping excess traffic from clogging residential side streets during construction?

A: The planning process will address traffic impacts on neighborhoods. This will include impacts occurring before, during and after construction.

Q13: How does the City plan to minimize urban blight over the next 20 years along RTA corridors?

A: The City is concerned about this issue, and expertise from the selected consultant will be asked for in the scope of work for this project. One strategy is for the City to advance purchase properties and then rent them back to residents or businesses until such time they are to be used for corridor project purposes.

Q14: What happens when 6 lanes of 1 st Ave ends at Grant Road ?

A: Traffic analyses have not yet been completed, however, it is likely that First Avenue traffic would turn either west to access the Interstate or east along Grant Road to be dispersed among the City roadway network.

Q15: Are there any plans to install a left-hand turn signals at Tucson Boulevard and Grant Road ?

A: This is a type of issue that will be addressed in the corridor planning process.

Q16: Will the widening of Grant Road include frontage road like Campbell ?

A: Design preferences such as these will be determined through the corridor planning and alignment process. Cost and width of right-of-way will be factors in this type of decision.

ALIGNMENT

Q17: Who decides which end of Grant to start on, or which side of the street to take?

A: Recommendations on alignment and phasing will be made by the citizen's advisory committee, with final decision making authority resting with the Mayor and Council.

Q18: Looks like the concentration of second hand stores along Grant and Country Club will get hit.

A: This will not be known with certainty until the Mayor and Council select an alignment.

Q19: What factors do you consider when establishing alignment?

A: The following are considered: acquisition costs, landmarks and public places, historic properties, drainage issues, engineering issues/feasibility, other factors identified through the alignment process.

Q20: How long will the alignment process take?

A: The alignment process is scheduled to take one full year, however, this may be increased depending upon the complexity of issues discovered through the process.

Q21: When will alignment of Grant Road be decided and how much land will be affected from the existing curb line?

A: One of the first activities will be to establish the alignment and the process will begin after a consultant is selected. This is currently programmed for sometime in 2007. The amount of the land required for the new roadway will vary depending upon the preferences of roadway amenities.

Q22: When will you be able to tell homeowners, business owners and neighborhoods precisely which structures and properties will be taken?

A: This will be known after the Mayor and Council select the alignment.

ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

Q23: Is it possible to design a better pedestrian space in the median that can accommodate a pedestrian and stroller? What traffic mitigation along Grant Road will ensure pedestrian and bicycle safety?

A: Pedestrian, bicycle and transit access will be issues to be addressed during the corridor planning process. It is the goal of the Grant Road corridor planning process to provide fair and equitable treatment for all modes of transportation.

Q24: How do you connect neighborhoods across Grant Road ?

A: The scope of work for the planning of the Grant Road project will include a section about integrating neighborhoods into the design of the road.

Q25: What provision is there in RTA funding for more bus shelters?

A: Bus shelters are provided through a contract that the City has with a private firm. Once shelter pads are established, the shelters are installed. Such shelter pads are a standard feature of a roadway project. Also, the RTA has funds set aside for bus pull-outs, which will include shelter pads.

Q26: Is it practical to use smaller busses for less-traveled routes or off-hours?

A: Smaller busses do not result in cost savings for the City. Smaller busses do not get significantly better gas mileage, and the costs for drivers and maintenance are generally the same. Smaller busses are appropriate in areas where larger vehicles cannot navigate.

Q27: Do bus pullouts require the acquisition of 8 lanes worth of right-of-way?

A: Not necessarily. Where pullouts are installed along a roadway, the road is widened to accommodate them. In some cases, this could lead to a roadway in the vicinity of a pullout to be wider than in other cases.

Q29: If sales tax revenues fall short of the cost of both roads and alternative modes, will buses, bicycle amenities and landscaping be fully funded?

A: Sales tax revenue shortfalls will be addressed by accessing other funding sources, not by cutting project features.

LAND USE PLANNING

Q30: What about land use? Density increases and infill? Where is that plan?

A: The Grant Road corridor project will have a land use-planning component. Properties left vacant or underutilized along the corridor will be evaluated and consensus achieved on issues such as building height, mass, scale and form. We are envisioning a plan that will be adopted as a “corridor” plan with the authority to affect future zoning decisions.

Q31: How can we encourage transit-oriented development on the RTA roadway corridors? Mixed use (commercial and residential), higher densities, pedestrian orientation, thriving business areas, increased livability in an urban environment?

A: See response to #30 above.

Q32: If a neighborhood association has a neighborhood plan, how much will this influence the planning and implementation of Grant Road widening?

A: All neighborhood plans and area plans along the corridor will be carefully considered in the planning for Grant Road . The plans will be used to inform decisions made about future land use, design treatments, landscaping and other factors. However, it must be recognized that the corridor plan may be in conflict with underlying neighborhood plans, and if that is the case, the recommendations of the corridor plan will prevail.

Q33: What does it cost, on average, to conduct environmental clean up on former gas station sites? How many of these sites exist on Grant Road ? What other types of businesses will require environmental clean up?

A: This is an issue that will be explored, inventoried and rectified through the corridor planning process.

Q34: There is a proposal for a six-story structure at Campbell and Grant at the Bookman's site. If Citizen Committees will decide the alignment of Grant Road , can they decide it ought to be widened on this south side? Is the Planning Department putting this issue on hold until the alignment is decided?

A: The City legally cannot prevent an application from moving forward for rezoning or building permit.

REAL ESTATE

Q35: Will appraisals be based on properties in the neighborhood not on Grant Road ? Will it be taken into account if property values are diminished because people don't want to buy properties close to an RTA project because of construction?

A: Appraisals are made based upon comparable sales in the general area of a specific property, which would include properties not directly on Grant Road .

Q36: If the road will require substantially less than half of the parcel, will partial acquisition occur, or must the entire parcel be taken?

A: This will depend upon the preferences of the owner of the property. The City cannot legally use its condemnation authority for more than it needs for public purposes, however, if the owner of the property agrees to full acquisition, the future use for the property will be determined through the land use-planning portion of the corridor planning process.

Q37: When will you be acquiring properties on Grant Road ? Would homeowners or businesses within the selected alignment need to move immediately after acquisition?

A: Advance acquisition may begin after the selection of a roadway alignment, with the availability of funds. It is possible for the City to acquire the property and then rent it back to previous homeowners or businesses.

Q38: My tenant, who pays me rent, decides that he cannot tolerate the uncertainty associated with the widening of Grant Road and moves. Will I be compensated for this loss of income?

A: No. However, advance acquisition may be considered, or other business assistance.

Q39: Is it true that businesses on Speedway were paid 20% of the inventory value when they were forced to relocate. What are the plans of the RTA for business compensation?

A: This varies widely depending upon the type of business.