You’ve probably heard of the Regional Transportation Authority. You may even know what we do – namely, help our member jurisdictions improve the regional transportation infrastructure with regional funding from the RTA’s countywide sales tax.
But have you taken the time to really understand, and see, the work we fund?
An easy way to do this is to view our online project maps. The talented graphic information systems staff at Pima Association of Governments updates the maps regularly to show the progress made in all elements of the 2006 voter-approved RTA regional transportation plan.
These maps provide an easy way to visualize the work we and our member jurisdictions have done in service of the plan and toward accomplishing the goals it set. Importantly, there’s a map for each of the multimodal plan’s elements, including roadway, transit, bikeway, and sidewalk improvements.
With more than 930 projects completed, large and small, these maps give a clearer view of all the work that has been done to improve our transportation network.
For example, the greenways, pathways, bikeways, and sidewalks map provides a region-wide view of all the completed and planned work to make our community safe and more accessible for alternative modes of transportation.
The intersection safety and capacity improvements map details all the intersections that have been improved since 2006, which have made it safer and faster to travel around the metro area.
Then there’s the big one – the roadway improvements element map. This shows all the big-ticket items in the plan, the projects that cost the most and are the most visible.
These include new road construction like the Sabino Canyon Road connection to Kolb Road, the La Cholla Boulevard widening and bridge over the Cañada del Oro Wash project, Valencia Road, Ajo Highway to Mark Road widening and pedestrian improvement project, and many others.
When laid out on the maps, you can really see the breadth and scope of the improvements included in the RTA’s 20-year plan. And there’s more to come. The plan is funded through June 2026, and we have many more projects of all sorts on tap.
Of course, there’s another way to see all the progress made on the RTA plan, although rather more time consuming. Just drive every major thoroughfare in the Tucson metro region and see the improvements for yourself. Be sure to bring our maps as your guide.