With the old year at a close and the new year about to begin, Pima Association of Governments and the Regional Transportation Authority are busy preparing our annual retrospectives.
The fiscal year 2024-2025 annual reports for both PAG and the RTA will be presented at the first meeting of the governing bodies in January 2026. The annual reports also will be available online at PAGregion.com and RTAmobility.com.
“We take our obligations to the public seriously,” said PAG and RTA Executive Director Michael J. Ortega. “These annual reports are one of the many ways we show our commitment to openness and to informing the public how their tax dollars are spent.”
Pima Association of Governments
PAG is a metropolitan planning organization for the Tucson metro area and serves as a federally designated transportation management agency.
The FY 2024-25 PAG annual report illustrates how we fulfill the obligations of regional transportation planning to assist member jurisdictions and the private sector in long-term decision making.
For example, the latest annual report shares a summary of the 2055 Regional Mobility and Accessibility Plan (RMAP). The plan provides a framework for how anticipated federal, state and local funding will be invested in transportation over the next 30 years. This is accomplished by working with regional jurisdictions, stakeholders, and the public to identify and prioritize regional needs and goals for investments. Investments support roadway expansion and safety enhancements, public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, system maintenance and operations, freight improvements, aviation projects, and additional transportation-related programs.
PAG also completed an annual bicycle and pedestrian count. This annual effort, made possible through cooperation with the jurisdictions and a team of community volunteers, helps to identify locations for new pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements and other facilities. This aids in the planning decisions of PAG member jurisdictions as they work to accommodate alternative transportation uses.
Regional Transportation Authority
The RTA will publish an advertisement in two local newspapers before the end of the year to share a summary report of financial and project data for the past year. The RTA manages a 20-year regional transportation plan and half-cent sales tax Pima County voters approved in 2006.
The RTA, which is managed by PAG, is a state-established political subdivision and taxing district within Pima County. The latest annual report will share project updates on the $2.1 billion, voter-approved transportation plan.
Among the highlights is the progress on roadway corridor projects currently underway. In addition, updates on the other plan elements including safety, transit, and environmental and economic vitality will be shared.
Both the plan and tax are effective through June 2026. Relying on annual sales tax collections averaging more than $100 million, more than $1.6 billion in RTA investments have been made to date in regional transportation improvements.
Both PAG and the RTA are governed by a nine-member board with chief elected officials from Pima County, the cities of South Tucson and Tucson; the towns of Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita; the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation and the governor-appointed Pima County representative on the Arizona State Transportation Board.
