Local opinion: No on 418 and 419, yes to Tucson’s future

Propositions 418 and 419 (RTA Next) ask voters to trust that decades of promises will finally deliver. We cannot. This is not just about voting no; it is about creating a path that works for our city. Luckily, Tucson already has a roadmap.

For 15 years, Living Streets Alliance (LSA) has engaged our community to advocate for transportation that meets real needs. Families, seniors, and workers across neighborhoods have shared the same message: streets must be safe, predictable, and accessible to all.

Tucsonans should ask what additional value RTA Next delivers. After 20 years under the original RTA, Tucson’s streets are the most dangerous in the country. Pedestrian deaths have risen 243 percent, critical safety gaps remain, and transportation continues to drive air pollution even as Tucson has declared a climate emergency.

A genuine regional transportation plan should be guided by safety, climate responsibility, and access, with metrics determining which projects get funded. Good plans set measurable goals, track progress, and adjust as needs change. RTA Next does none of this. It sets no targets for reducing crashes, increasing transit use, or cutting emissions, and offers no way to measure success.

Tucson is also the only jurisdiction that pays more into RTA Next than it receives. Meanwhile, wealthier suburbs, where median incomes are twice ours, rely on regional funds to avoid paying for their own local projects. Tucson would subsidize new suburban roads while limiting investment in itself.

Tucson would be better served by keeping these dollars and investing them directly into Move Tucson. Adopted in 2022 after extensive community input, Move Tucson includes more than 200 prioritized multimodal projects, from transit improvements to safer streets for people walking, biking, and driving. If Tucson retains the more than $400 million it would otherwise send to RTA Next, the City can fund its highest-priority projects, control timelines, and ensure accountability. Even if Tucson chose to fully fund projects in South Tucson and tribal communities at current RTA Next levels, the City would still retain more overall funding by charting its own course — allowing us to meet regional commitments while investing more deeply in our own neighborhoods.

As RTA’s own executive director spelled out for the City Council in 2024, while he served as City Manager, “it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to leave $32 million on the table every year in the name of a regional approach.” Even if newer projections are $400 million over 20 years, this is a staggering cost to Tucson that we cannot afford.

Tucsonans have shown what we value by approving Propositions 407 and 411 to invest in bikeways, traffic calming, and safer streets, and Mayor and Council and City staff have delivered. Funding Move Tucson instead of RTA Next would honor that choice and advance cleaner air, safe streets, mobility options, and Tucson’s climate action plan.

Since LSA shared our position in November, everyday people have mobilized for an alternative funding package that reflects Tucson’s values. I am part of this movement too. My grandmother walked 22nd Street to work for twenty years, one of the city’s most dangerous corridors. Crossing it was not a choice; it was her only option.

That corridor was supposed to be improved under the original RTA. It was not, and working families are being asked to pay for it again. Generations of Tucsonans have been told to wait for basic safety that should have been delivered decades ago. As a mom, I refuse to accept the false choice RTA Next forces on our future.

RTA Next is $2.67 billion, which sounds promising for safer streets, better transit, and more connected neighborhoods. But handing Tucson’s tax dollars back into a system with a history of delays, mismanagement, and special-interest influence is like spreading water over weeds and calling it a garden. Without clear planning and accountable governance, the cycle repeats, and communities will again be asked to wait.

LSA stands ready to help facilitate an alternative. Working with Tucsonans and regional partners, we can initiate a coherent approach. Transparency and engagement must guide any funded transportation program.

It is time to regroup, and we don’t need to start from scratch.