DSNA Meeting Minutes: March 2025
Call to order (7:02 PM)
Attendance/Introduction question (Bagpipes, thumbs up/down?): Kyle DeWitte, Christy Stewart, Nicholas McCullough (Pima County), Kylie Walzak, Karen Greene, Noémie, Thomas, Dustin Daley, Paul Preston, Sky Jacobs, Sam Credio, Meredith Alarcio-Caldon, Michael Collins (left early), Faffs Riederer, Alfred Zuniga, Tim Hagyard, Natasha Winnik, Kristin McRay, David Burbank, Lee Simpson,
Changes/approval of the previous month’s minutes: no quorum, no February minutes; January minutes approved.
Treasurer’s report $469.28 (no change). Noeme to send Dunbar $100 from dog calendar sales.
Announcements (external and internal)
Condolences for the passing of Raul Grijalva Nicholas: currently we are actively soliciting folks 14-21 who are interested in a youth internship program. pima.gov website ($15 hour/20 hours a week). We will have an annual Cesar Chavez march starting at Pueblo High School this Saturday March 22th. A great community time.
Karen: fill out your library survey. We are planning on circulating 90% of the Arizona collection, which has pros and cons, so share your thoughts on that. The next board meeting is the first Thursday of every month. We also have a fundraiser for musicians who lost their instruments in the LA fire.
Faffs April 5 and 10 are bike path meetings at Oury Community Center. Postcards and post to listserv will be coming. One Saturday morning and Thursday evening. Come with roller skates… ice cream served.
Discussion
Downtown Links - Welcome Sam Credio, Director, Dept of Transportation and Mobility, City of Tucson (7:15 PM) Sam has known Karen for many years and knows that she has been to every meeting; I also want to say that I do appreciate how projects like this impact the neighborhood.
Is there still a plan for a quiet zone? Seven or eight years ago, we planned that this would qualify for a quiet zone. We have hired a contractor who used to work for Union Pacific who will be helping us. Full Disclosure UP hates quiet zones… they don’t have steering wheels. We will start on the application now, but I don’t know how long it will take.
The expected completion date is unknown (we had been hoping to finish two years ago). A major factor and current delay is the Lumen optic lines that run along the tracks; If they do not move along we will ask for financial reimbursement. We are at their mercy.
We did have a very robust design for the deck in 2017/2018. But we did not anticipate the inflation from the past three years. We should have accepted that bid; it would have been much cheaper, but we didn’t, so here are our new plans. (attach drone photo, plans) We are trying to use native plants (will share list) We pulled out water fountains because they are very difficult to maintain.
Questions: We pulled out things like stamped asphalt and pavers because of cost, drainage issues and maintenance challenges, We saved $120,000 by the changes in design. Changing the size and shape of the deck/bridge saved an additional unknown amount.
Can DS see a 3D rendering? They are quite expensive; I would rather show you the completed project.
The ped bridge will help with sound but the retaining walls will absorb a lot of the sound, no other sound mitigation planned.
The plant palate was designed by Brad Lancaster, plants from Pima County Nursery. Sam will send the list to the neighborhood.
Did Mayor and Council approve changes? There was not a formal vote. They rely on us to complete the project as best we can.
Things that went over budget were anything to do with the railroad… for instance, we have to have flaggers who are extremely expensive, concrete and steel prices have gone up, and the issues with Lumen.
What changes have been approved with City Council? Designs that were approved in 2014/2015/2016 have been changed… we did build a road, we built the hawk, we have a bike path, and some little bypasses suggested by public.
Why is there no art, shade on 6th? There will be artwork on the northside, coming from Spain. And it is a very cool piece. And there is a wet wheel which also qualifies as an art piece. But between UP right of way and the Trolley there simply is no room.
The lanes will open up once the construction is completed.
The speeding on the road is an issue; we did add bike protection. 30-35 is a comfortable speed, but we realize that many people are going faster.
We used CAC to engage the various neighborhoods; we could have done it better. We have tried to do outreach through social media and our news releases.
Why should anyone participate in CAC discussions, if changes are made without input? It is unfortunate that we had to pull some things out in order to meet budget, and it is still likely to go over budget.
Dunbar was promised that things would not be changed, but they were. Sam admitted that he was young and inexperienced when those agreements were made, and now he understands things much better.
We, as the City, need to be transparent.
More Questions from chat:
Have train fatalities gone down since this project started? Yes. Only a few deaths west of Main.
Please send us the plant palette. Many people in this neighborhood care and know about plants.
If there is no shade where the audience is supposed to sit, how will they be able to listen to the artist?
Sky shared that the bike lanes should have been built separately, and to keep that in mind on future projects.
We are looking at using impact fees (4 million available) for capacity filling. If there are specific amenities that you are looking for, please chat with us.
Karen noticed that the past directors did say any changes would be brought to the public, and that has not happened. How can we improve communication moving forward? Sam: we have a lot of work to finish up, we will look to you all as we finish the deck and other elements.
Thomas: is there any new infrastructure to connect the bypass with the other corridors rather than just being dumped on Franklin? We have some things on our wish list, such as a cycle path.
If you are riding west on Broadway it is really messy to turn right and you have to go uphill. Sam: the idea was to connect with the Snake Bridge to connect with the path behind the wall, to connect with the downtown bike lanes.
Karen: thank you for coming and bringing other folks to answer questions. We will continue to discuss what would be helpful in clear communication.
Kristin McRay from Ward 1: we want to advocate for your desires for this project.
Reports from the field
- DNARC (Downtown Neighborhoods and Residents Committee) Tim: no meeting this month. The new executive director, Crystal Moore, introduced herself and the vision at the last meeting. There is talk of a pedestrian-only section on Congress.
- Downtown Links: Sky: the City needs to learn how to communicate with the public. It might be too late for this project. Karen suggested a quarterly check-in. No completion date so far, the project is two years late. Thomas suggested being informed of changes, but they need to be changes that obviously impact neighborhood.
- Dunbar Coalition: We still need a rep; it seems like the garden space is being vacated, and there are other plans for that area.
- HFAC (Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition):
- Stone/Speedway: might be impacted by frozen HUD funds
- Splinter Collective:
- WAMO (Warehouse Arts Management Organization): we need a rep
- For the good of the cause
Those (Brandon and City lawyer) who have been involved on fighting on liquor licence have been tough and persistent. We appreciate the hours and hard work and brain power. Faffs: The letter was sent today, late on my part.
Next meeting will be in-person elections.
Adjourn: 8:21 PM