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ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans have until the end of January to give their input on the 20-year regional transportation plan — RTA Next. This is a crucial moment to make your voice heard through their survey and open house events. I’m critical of the plan, but I admire and deeply appreciate the collaborative leadership of Mayor Romero, Supervisor Scott, and General Maxwell in developing it. Given the RTA’s imbalanced representation and its obstructive executive director, this was probably the best outcome attainable.

Our community should have a regional transportation plan. However, I cannot support the current RTA Next plan because it’s inequitable, does not address our regional needs, and ignores our climate crisis. It would continue to subsidize suburban sprawl at the expense of the key services and infrastructure that can make our region more resilient and economically competitive in the decades to come. RTA Next will worsen congestion and offer us more of the same: bad road conditions, air pollution, and unsafe streets for all.

The proposed RTA Next plan is out of step with what ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans want. When developing Move ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, the City found that 62% of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans drive daily but only 36% say they prefer it that way. Instead, 46% say they would rather walk, and 34% say they wish they could bike daily. Of the total RTA Next funds, 54% will be spent on roadway projects and just 25% for transit and 8% for active transportation. If people want alternatives to driving, why does the plan look this way? There are many reasons, but at the core: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s population is nearly four times the combined populations of Marana, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita, yet each jurisdiction has the same voting power – a single vote. This voting structure leaves ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ residents underrepresented.

The plan should invest more in public transit and safety. Public transportation has far fewer fatalities and crashes than any other form of ground transportation, but only 5% of the plan’s funding would go toward expanding transit. This amount will probably only cover the undelivered expansion projects from the 2006 RTA, since 2006 RTA funds for new transit service were largely reallocated to cover budget shortfalls on road projects. Better transit, not wider roads, will provide the regional economic benefits we’ve been promised. Just like a new car when it’s driven off the lot, roads depreciate the minute they’re built and require a lifetime of continual maintenance. Transit, in contrast, returns $5 in economic output for every $1 invested in it (just look at the streetcar) and creates good, long-term jobs for workers.

No matter how you look at it, this RTA Next plan is not a good deal for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Although ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ provides most of RTA’s revenue and represents over half the region’s population, only 24% of RTA Next would go toward new ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ projects (even when including the funds designated to complete ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s four undelivered 2006 RTA projects, the City’s share only increases to about 33%). The only way the City’s share exceeds 50% is if all of the transit funding in the plan is exclusively counted as a benefit to the City. But transit is arguably the most regional aspect of the plan: service extends beyond city limits, and 36% of the plan’s transit funding would go to suburban and rural shuttles, suburban express routes, and paratransit throughout the region. So you have to round up very generously to make this plan look fair to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans.

Since ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ taxpayers contribute between 55-65% of RTA’s revenue, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ could pass its own half-cent sales tax to fund the same projects, as well as maintain and expand transit service for the region. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ voters have a strong track record of voting to invest in infrastructure (see Props 101, 407, and 411). Other jurisdictions in Pima County do not– the Sahuarita bonds just failed and Vail residents consistently reject incorporation. In other words: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ does not need the RTA, but the rest of the region needs ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to pass RTA Next and to pay for it.

Please let your City and County representatives know your transportation priorities by January 31, 2025.