Next steps on development of a new regional transportation plan

September 14, 2023

Before June 2026, the Regional Transportation Authority plans to present Pima County voters with a new 20-year regional transportation plan for consideration.

The RTA Board has set a budget of $2.34 billion. The budget is based on a continuation of the existing half-cent sales tax, which was approved by voters in 2006 and will need to be approved again by the voters. The board tentatively plans to have the plan and tax initiatives on the ballot in May 2025.

Intersection of Tangerine Road and Dove Mountain Blvd., part of the RTA-funded Tangerine Road, Interstate 10 to La Cañada Drive project.

In order to meet that target date, the RTA Board has asked the RTA Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and the RTA’s Technical Management Committee to recommend a new draft multimodal plan by Dec. 6.

Once the board reviews and approves the initial draft, the RTA will conduct regional outreach during the first half of 2024 to seek public feedback.

What will be in the plan?

The draft plan in development currently has five main elements:

  • Multimodal Roadway Corridor
  • Transit
  • Safety
  • Active Transportation
  • Environmental

State law requires that corridor projects are named. The CAC is narrowing down a list of roadway projects using the most recent project costs estimates and in collaboration with the RTA Technical Management Committee, which is made up of representatives of RTA member jurisdictions and other private sector technical experts. Projects considered were submitted by member jurisdictions earlier in the process.

The CAC is currently determining the level of resources to assign to each of the other plan elements.

RTA background

The current voter-approved RTA plan and half-cent sales tax are effective through June 2026. To date, more than $1.6 billion of the $2.1 billion, 2006 plan has been invested in the regional transportation network to improve its reliability, safety and connectivity.

Part of the current plan includes an investment of $30 million annually in regional transit services, including expanded evening and weekend Sun Tran services, and neighborhood Sun Shuttle services. Without approval of a new plan, other funding sources will need to be identified in order to continue the transit services expanded under the 2006 plan.

Stay informed

Below are the remaining plan development milestones, subject to change based on RTA Board direction:

  • Dec. 6 – deadline for CAC to complete RTA Next draft plan
  • Dec. 7 – RTA Board initial review of recommended draft plan
  • January-June 2024 – RTA public outreach regionwide for review of the draft regional transportation plan and feedback on the identified regional transportation priorities
  • June-December 2024 – RTA Board reviews public feedback and finalizes plan/requests plan and sales tax initiatives be placed on Pima County ballot
  • June-May 2025 – RTA continues public education of plan contents
  • May 2025 – RTA election

Learn more about the RTA plan development process and sign up to access up-to-date information at RTANext.com.

The Regional Transportation Authority, a political subdivision governed by an independent nine-member board, manages a 20-year regional transportation plan and half-cent transaction privilege, or sales, tax which expire in June 2026. Visit RTAmobility.com for more information. The RTA operates its programs without regard to race, color and national origin in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. If you need translation assistance, please call (520) 792-1093 and ask for Zonia Kelley. Si necesita ayuda con traducción, llame por favor al (520) 792-1093 y comuníquese con Zonia Kelley. 

Public participation efforts for the development of Pima Association of Governments’ 2055 Regional Mobility and Accessibility Plan, the region’s federally required long-range transportation plan, will be conducted in alignment with RTA Next public outreach. The 30-year long-range plan is required to identify RTA Next projects and funding. PAG, the region’s metropolitan planning organization, manages the RTA. Both plans focus on meeting the region’s highest priority transportation needs.