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Archive for the ‘Modern Street Car’ Category

Tucson Talks Transit – Part 2; Beginnings

Posted in Edges and Overlays, Ideas, Modern Street Car on August 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Screen shot 2014-08-15 at 3.10.42 PM

The second of Drachman Institute’s 3-part series of transit-related talks took place Friday, August 15th at the Drachman Center, 44 N. Stone Ave., Tucson.  The event started with definitions of  what TOD (Transit Oriented Development) means and how to support density & diversity.   The streetcar is a start, but sustainability of that success has to be larger network with the right development.  In a related post, Jarrett Walker & Associates calls this economic zone  our network map for high frequency transit routes.  The challenge will be reasons to invest.  Kelly Iitzen talked about demographic survey analysis.  Laura Jensen explained GIS mapping of  base demographic regions, zoning areas, bus routes and an array of other data overlays.   Jacob Bintliff from the San Fransisco Firm,  BAE Urban Economics put it together with recommendations for strategic investment planning. (more…)

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Sun Link Tucson Streetcar Update

Posted in Modern Street Car on November 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Clickable information link:  Sun Link Tucson Streetcar Update

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sunLINK The Tucson Modern Streetcar

Posted in Broadway Corridor, Modern Street Car, RTA on October 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The RTA’s website:  sunLINK

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Streetcar revitalizes downtown Tucson

Posted in Edges and Overlays, Infill, Modern Street Car on September 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The streetcar is beginning to look a bit like revitalization.  Click on the link for a Daily Wildcat Summary of development.  According to the Downtown Tucson Partnership, between 2008 and 2013 roughly  600 million has either been spent or committed to development in the core with perhaps much more to come.  That’s hopeful, because taxes on that development will be needed to cover the  public  subsidy the street car and maybe a little more.  Ridership was never intended to cover its cost density.  It was intended to exist in a deficit.   As surrounding historic neighborhood become impacted by overlapping commercial, how will they hang on to their residential flavor.  How do they become magnets for preservation and serve as a poetic counterbalance to commercial exuberance?   How do we make downtown not only a fun place to play, but a great place to live?

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Street Car Construction Schedule

Posted in Modern Street Car on April 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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Should the Neighborhoods back the Main Gate project?

Posted in Conversations, Infill, Main Gate UOD, Modern Street Car on April 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Click here to read:  Neighborhood association ought to back Main Gate project, by Robert Lanning, Architect.   Published by the Daily Star.   Here are some other points to consider:  An edge / transition strategy is necessary.  It is missing.  One way it can happen is with a sub-regional downtown / U of A master plan that outlines what is coming so neighborhoods know what kind of final input they need to be prepared to engage in.  The MGD skirts this.  It is a fast track style re-zoning which is developer driven.  If the project is like the $35 million dollar“Vue on Apache” in Tempe, Neighborhoods might have reservations.  Not only is neighborhood input necessary in driving our best urban planning but to imply neighborhoods can not be part of a plan omits a key part of the picture.  Watching the frustration of developers and neighborhoods year after year speaks for itself.  Many agree that the transition is or should be the stretch of property just east of Euclid, but what does it look like?   Are there plazas, hard-scape, sidewalks, trees and base development of low masses, including some of the fine historic structures creating the idea of being walkable and pedestrian friendly.   A good transition insures this and when you look at historical structures that might be part of this, you have to see beyond the weeds.  Map courtesty of WUNA.

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The Streetcar, Intelligent Infill and Livability

Posted in Infill, Main Gate UOD, Modern Street Car on March 30, 2012| 2 Comments »

The Arizona Daily Star published a piece by the Dean of the College of Architecture, Janice Cervilli.   The Dean sees this as positive for not only development,  but for the community.  What do neighborhoods think?   Check out the Dean’s point of view on a dicey subject in the Modern Streetcar, Intelligent Infill can Make Tucson a More Livable City.

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Media History for the Tucson Modern Streetcar

Posted in Edges and Overlays, Modern Street Car on March 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The $200 million dollar , 4 mile long Tucson urban street car has been an excuse for  a lot of planning activity on the heals of Mayor Walkup’s quick fix initiative 2 years ago  after frustrated voters threatened to recall him.  Much has happened downtown in that time, but not enough for the street car or for the western edge of the university.  Not surprising our new democrat mayor Rothschild has “opened Tucson for business” starting with the big bang of the Tucson’s first UOD (Urban Overlay District), the Main Gate  UOD .    UOD s are large zoning overlays design to fit into the Tucson UOD enabling ordinance adopted by the Walkup administration.  Now it looks like the current Mayor gets to justify the street car.   It is a big buzz and here is a collection of media revolving around it.   Tucson street car official website:    MEDIA COVERAGE   

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The Streetcar’s Zoning Zig Zag

Posted in Edges and Overlays, Infill, Modern Street Car on February 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Tucson Modern Streetcar, now slated to begin running in early 2013.  Read about zoning headaches and transition issues along the route in Zocalo Magazine’s  The Streetcar’s Zoning Zig Zag, published in December 2011.    Get more information in the official website of the Tucson Modern Streetcar.

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Sacrifice Zone

Posted in Edges and Overlays, Modern Street Car on February 14, 2012| 1 Comment »

Sacrifice Zone,Tucson Weekly 2/9/12.  The Tucson Weekly quotes several neighborhood and historical leaders on the potential impact of a new transition zone called the Main Gate District.  This is a new overlay which is part of a growing collection of proposed overlay plans called UODs.  This amounts to an up-zoning of targeted properties to answer to pressure for development.  UODs (Urban Overlay Districts) are increasingly relied upon by the University, the RTA, developers and our city planners.   The first, was the Infill Incentive District (IID) in 2006 which can have its own sub-districts, like the Downtown Core District (DCD).  It enabled The District student housing project which is a 5 story housing compound in the West University Neighborhood.  The Main Gate District and the DowntownLINKS are two UODs pending final approval that can significantly impact U of A and downtown neighborhoods and edge development.  Future UOD’s can include the street car linkage, Fourth Avenue, and all RTA funded widening projects along arterial streets.  This appears to be the future of planning that presents a huge challenge for neighborhoods.   Read more about the Main Gate District in the Daily Wildcat.   To see where the MGD started.  You might also recall two articles in the  Arizona Daily Star about the genesis of the MGD:   November 2011 /  December 2011

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Street Car Project Revenues

Posted in Modern Street Car, On-going Action on March 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

From Karin Uhlich’s Office , Ward 3

“Tucson received a federal allocation of $63 million for the University/downtown streetcar. It is anticipated that this project will generate at least $1 billion of private investment.  Things are happening! The urban street car project is estimated to create 2,850 jobs over 19 industries as a result of the project’s construction.”

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