Five years ago, Susanne Blodgett was embarrassed about the way Green Valley looked.
Driving down the streets, one would think it was "a barren wasteland that nobody cared to care about," she said.
She kept waiting for somebody to do something about it, then realized she was that somebody and founded the nonprofit Median Green in 2007.
With the help of Supervisor Ray Carroll and County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, Median Green got a licensing agreement to do work on medians owned by the county.
The group wins grants and gets donations, and it also sells sponsorships and memorial trees.
It buys plants from local nurseries and hires local contractors to do the planting and irrigation work - which locals appreciate, Blodgett said.
People are also reading…
What was there before was a lot of dirt, she said, plus a few mesquite and palo verde trees, scraggly red yuccas and the occasional cactus that survived a few decades of neglect.
Now the medians are lined with "showy and sturdy" desert spoon, golden barrel cacti and purple prickly pears for color, saguaros, agaves, decorative rock and more, she said - "all native, desert-adapted plants - we're not planting petunias."
The beautified medians "give people a sense of pride and ownership," said Supervisor Carroll, who helped the group cut through red tape to get started.
About 200 volunteers keep the plants watered and the open space clear of trash, and some even clear weeds on unimproved medians.
Of the 110 medians on main public roadways in Green Valley, Median Green has improved 30, including nearly all of the town's main drag, La Cañada Drive.
"And we're very proud of that, and we've done it on a shoestring," Blodgett said.
In five years the group has spent about $230,000, about a quarter of which was donated by the Freeport-McMoRan foundations and none of which was your tax dollar.
The Median Green folks should be the DIY streetscape heroes of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which is trying to raise $350,000 to beautify the six city-owned medians on Tucson Boulevard near Tucson International Airport and maybe some corners, too.
Like Blodgett, Chamber board member and business owner Richard Underwood decided to take the median situation into his own hands. His group has raised about $95,000 so far and is ramping up fundraising efforts.
"We all have ownership," he said. "I hope people step up."
Down The Road
• The Tucson Bus Riders Union will hold a rally at 5:30 p.m. today at the Armory Park Senior Center, 221 S. Sixth Ave. Representatives from the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union will share their experiences in organizing a riders union.
• Sun Tran has added two new bus stops on La Cañada Drive near Lambert Lane for Oro Valley express passengers commuting to downtown Tucson on Route 107X and to the Aero Park on Route 203X.
• Residents in the university area can attend an open house about the UA Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Study from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Student Union Memorial Center to provide comments on biking and walking conditions on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.
ROAD Q
This week, Road Runner answers two speed-limit questions.
Question: Arthur Meyer wants to know why the speed limit on Pantano Road between Broadway and Speedway was reduced to 35 mph while most of the road is 40 mph.
Answer: The speed limit there was reduced for safety reasons about two years ago when the city added bike lanes and regular lanes became more narrow, city spokesman Mike Graham said.
Question: Carroll Lam wants to know why two-lane Columbus Boulevard has a 35 mph speed limit while four-lane Fifth Street has a 30 mph speed limit.
Answer: Fifth used to be a commuter route into downtown and had reversible lanes, Graham said. Over time, traffic patterns changed, and the street was downgraded from an arterial to a collector road and the speed limit was reduced, he said. Slower traffic is safer for left-turning vehicles and for pedestrians, he added.
Send your Road Q questions by email to roadrunner@azstarnet.com or to 4850 S. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85714. Please include first and last names.
