Letter: Pedestrian Crossing at old Main Ave and St Mary’s

May 3, 2014

Honorable Mayor Rothschild and City Council
255 W Alameda St
Tucson, AZ 85701

Re: Pedestrian Crossing at old Main Ave and St Mary’s

Dear Mayor Rothschild and Council,

It is critically important to the Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood (D/S) to have good walking and biking connections in and out of our neighborhood.

These connections are especially important on the south end of our neighborhood, which connects us to downtown. Many residents live in D/S because if its proximity and connection to downtown Tucson and its many businesses, art/cultural centers, and transportation hubs.

D/S has a high number of bikes and peds and our neighborhood serves as an important corridor for bikes and peds from other parts of the City to get into and out of downtown.

Two crossings that are vital connections are old Main Ave and 9th Ave. For these connections to be maintained we need adequate infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists to safely and comfortably cross St Mary’s. With 9th Ave in flux (and soon to be under long-term construction) as part of Downtown Links redevelopment, Main Ave becomes more important.

This highly used pedestrian/bike corridor has become difficult to use and very dangerous. Currently cars do not stop for pedestrians without a marked crosswalk, as is the case throughout the City.

Ideally a ‘hawk’ crossing would be constructed at old Main. A second tier offering could be a raised crossing with differentiated surface. At minimum this intersection must have a stripped crossing. Without any of these options this intersection is a hazard, with a mixture of speeding and frustrated motorists, daring pedestrians, and little to indicate a pedestrian/bicycle crossing.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Sky Jacobs

President, Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Association

CC: Daryl Cole, Director of Transportation; Farhad Moghimi, RTA Director; Citizens Advisory Committee on Downtown Links

Recipient

Mayor and Council, CC: Daryl Cole, Director of Transportation; Farhad Moghimi, RTA Director; Citizens Advisory Committee on Downtown Links
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