Broadway Widening: Comment Deadline, Flash Mob & Council Vote
Campbell and Broadway intersection on the latest Broadway widening project maps.
The Broadway widening project is bumping up against yet another deadline and vote at the Mayor and Council Meeting– this time on April 19. In advance of Tuesday’s vote the Broadway Coalition and supporting groups like Sustainable Tucson and the Tucson Bus Riders Union are organizing.
TONIGHT: The Broadway widening comment period closes tonight (April 15) by midnight. (Full details for this and all action steps below the jump.)
On Sunday, April 17, there is a “rally and flash mob”, endorsed by the Broadway Coalition and the Tucson Bus Riders Union. (Sounds like fun. Info below.)
On April 19, at the City Council there will be a vote on the disputed project. Will the City Council side with the residents (who have had basically the same“modest expansion” message for years? Approximately 200 people– on both sides of the expansion argument– attended the public meeting on April 5.
Hundreds of citizens attended a meeting in summer 2014 to review plans to widen Broadway Blvd.
Hello transit watchers, users, and supporters:
1. TODAY [April 15]– until midnight– is the last day to submit comments regarding the Broadway widening project and the 30% design (which M&C will or will not approve on Tues. 4/19)
Here is where to comment: http://www.broadwayboulevard.info/comments.php
2. Sustainable Tucson and the Broadway Coalition have posted a petition urging the Mayor and Council NOT to pass the 30% design as is; that petition is here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/develop-historic-broadway-not-wastefully-widen-the Personally, I would urge you to sign it if you haven’t already, and contribute a comment there as well.
(There is also a competing petition online, at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/145/722/795/pass-the-30-percent-broadway-design-plan/ posted by the VP for Government Affairs of the Tucson Metro Chamber in the name of the “business community of Tucson.” I am not sure how the widening plan supports the local chamber of commerce’s mission to “promote a strong local economy resulting in business growth, ample employment and improving quality of life for all citizens,” but there you have it. It’s pretty interesting to compare the comments posted with the two petitions.)
3. An ACTION in support of a better plan for Broadway is planned for Sunday 4/17 at 5:30 p.m. It’s billed as a “combination rally and flash mob,” and is endorsed by the Broadway Coalition and the Tucson Bus Riders Union among others. Details are on Facebook and below:
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https://www.facebook.com/events/1584799511831026/OCCUPY BROADWAY
In Support of a Walkable, Bikeable, Livable Thriving Broadway for People!Sunday April 17 | 5:30 to 6:00 p.m.
2419 E. Broadway Blvd. (by northwest corner Tucson Blvd & Broadway)
In Support of a Walkable, Bikeable, Livable Thriving Broadway for People!Sunday April 17 | 5:30 to 6:00 p.m.
2419 E. Broadway Blvd. (by northwest corner Tucson Blvd & Broadway)
5:30: Rally at 2419 E. Broadway
5:45: March east 1/4 mile to Treat Ave. HAWK crossing
until 6:00 p.m.: Peaceful, legal occupation of Broadway using HAWK light.
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4. There’s recently been quite a flurry of substantive opinion writing and advocacy on this subject. The attachments with this message are from advocates including Bus Riders Union, Bus Friends Forever, and Broadway Coalition and the links below are to articles appearing in the Star, the Tucson Weekly, the Casa Maria blog, and the Tucson Progressive.
Another key piece is the latest by CM Steve Kozachik in his Ward 6 newsletter of April 11: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/files/ward6/newsletters/Newsletter_4-11-2016.pdf It’s on pages 2 thru 4.
5. On to the City budget! More on this subject soon, but the Mayor and Council agenda this Tuesday also includes the Submission of The City Manager’s FY 16/17 Recommended Budget to the Mayor and Council.
A summary of the recommended budget cuts and their impacts on services is attached, and you can also find it here https://www.tucsonaz.gov/sirepub/cache/2/rehjpvdushx1wcgdycetibmu/763003404152016033724189.PDF
The transportation department section is on page 4; top half of the page is transit. Service cuts and fare increases are recommended.
Check here for agenda updates so you can see what else is posted, and check what time the study session will start, as well as the order of events for the evening meeting where the Broadway decision will happen.
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