If you are a registered voter in Pima County, you should have received a ballot for Props 418 and 419, regarding a new 20-year regional transportation plan and a 20-year funding source. Both questions on the ballot need to pass for the plan projects and services to go forward.
Election Day is March 10 and will be conducted by mail. The Pima County Recorder’s Office recommends you mail your ballots back by March 3 to ensure they are received by election day. You also can drop off your ballot at early voting locations through 7 p.m., March 10.
Locations:
- Recorder’s Main Office, 240 N Stone Avenue
- Recorder’s Country Club Office, 6550 S. Country Club Road
- City of Tucson – Ward 2 Office, 7820 E Broadway Blvd
Find additional location information at www.recorder.pima.gov/EarlyVotingSites.
What’s in the plan?
The 20-year, $2.67 billion plan includes five elements:
- $1.4 billion – Roadway (multimodal) Corridor – 31 new projects
- $177 million – Arterial Reconstruction – to reconstruct major roadways not named in the Roadway Corridor element
- $726 million – Transit – continue expanded bus and paratransit services from the 2006 RTA plan
- $254 million – Safety, ADA and Active Transportation – crosswalk improvements, HAWKS, bike lanes, pathways
- $50 million – Environmental – wildlife crossings to prevent vehicle/animal collisions
Read more here.
If voters approve the plan and funding, you will continue to pay the same half-cent sales tax in place since 2006.
Simply, for every $2 you spend, a penny goes toward transportation improvements across the region. This amount is the same as what you already pay today. Contributors to Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) tax revenues include residents, businesses, tourists and visitors.
The tax will raise an estimated $125 million per year to fund the transportation improvements described in the proposed RTA Next plan. This total represents nearly two-thirds the amount of regional transportation funding our region receives from state and federal sources.
In addition to the transportation enhancements Props 418 and 419 would deliver, the investment in transportation will help fuel the economy. An economic analysis ties at least 48,000 additional jobs created across the region over 20 years to the plan. This included short-term and long-term employment.
The analysis estimated the plan would help fuel $3.7 billion in economic benefits over 20 years, through public- and private-sector investments on improved transportation corridors.
