Kevin's Ward 3 News and Updates
Friday, February 3, 2023

Meeting on a Bus Ride

What better place to talk about the future of Tucson’s bus system than on a bus?

This week, Council Member Lane Santa Cruz and I had a meeting about Tucson’s transit system while riding together on the bus – her very good suggestion. She has met this way with several of my colleagues and Tucson’s Director of Transportation and Mobility Sam Credio. It’s a great way to focus on this form of transportation.

We met at my office and took a circle route on three routes. First, number 15 from Campbell and Grant north to the Tohono T’adai Transit Center (on Stone near the Tucson mall), then number 16 south on Oracle to Grant Road. Finally, number 9 east to depart just a couple of blocks from the Ward 3 office.

Our trip was just a few of the nearly 60,000 rides a day that happen on Tucson public transit.

We noticed that the buses we rode serve a variety of people, many of whom would otherwise have to pay for more expensive ways of getting to work, medical appointments, school, or shopping. We saw commuters use the bus’s front bike rack. We saw mothers with children, older people, and, yes, the occasional person obviously on drugs. We didn’t witness any problems on our rides, other than one talkative bus driver who was telling riders a few things that were just not true (example: “the UA gave the city $9 billion to keep the buses free”). He was adamant that people board from the front and exit from the rear, despite that rule having changed since COVID and the fares being free.

On our trip, we saw artful bus-stops that provided good shade and were clean. We saw some not so clean. And we saw several stops with no benches. One, located in the troubled Grant and Oracle area had a lone bus stop sign that also held a No Trespassing sign. We wondered why all the buses had to come to a transit center, and that maybe a grid system of routes would be more efficient. We agreed that we will work for better service, more frequency, keeping the fares free, and modernizing the routes (some legacy routes still stop in front of someone’s house who was influential when that route was designed).

Like CM Santa Cruz, I know that good public transit is essential. It’s basically a public utility. Even if you don’t ride public transit much, it serves you by keeping some cars off the road, making sure that your fellow Tucsonans can get to their jobs and services, and that our many visitors who add so much to our economy can get around easily. Tucson must make sure that we have a robust and efficient public transit system (not just buses, but also the streetcar and Sun Van that serves people with special needs).

You, too, have an opportunity to comment on our public transit system.

Sun Tran is conducting an “Comprehensive Operational Analysis” with an informational online slide show, an online survey, pop-up meetings on February 7th, and a virtual public meeting on February 9th. All the info you need is at https://www.tucsoncoa.com/

- Kevin

A Note from the Ward 3 Office

Last week we heard from many people who wanted to send condolences on behalf of the passing of former Ward 3 Councilman Paul Durham. At this time there are no planned services or places to send condolences. We are collecting letters, cards, and email recollections of Paul for a future memorial.

Those who wish to send something can mail or drop off at the Ward 3 office -
       C/o Paul Durham Memorial
       1510 E Grant Rd.
       Tucson AZ, 85715

Emails can be sent to the Ward 3 inbox at [email protected].

We’ve included a few pictures we recently found here:

The Everyone Counts! Point in Time Count by Shannon Jenkins

Last week, I was able to participate in the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) Everyone Counts! Point in Time (PIT) Count. The TPCH is a coalition of community and faith-based organizations, government entities, businesses, and individuals, and it’s our local regional body that coordinates housing and funding for services for houseless folks. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires groups like this (called Continuums of Care) to conduct this annual count, so TPCH member organizations - the University of Arizona and the City of Tucson - coordinate our local PIT Count. 

The goal of the Count is to provide an annual “snapshot” of what homelessness looks like on a single night in Pima County. Teams of volunteers conduct short surveys with houseless folks between 6:00 am and 11:00 am to gain insight into the lived experiences of our houseless neighbors and identify gaps in service. TPCH then uses this information to improve services geared towards permanently ending homelessness. 

At 6 am, when I met up with my team in the El Con parking lot, it was 32 degrees out, and the first person we approached was on a bench at Reid Park under a sleeping bag dusted in a layer of frost.

Reid Park around 6:30 am on the morning of the Point in Time Count

We also spoke with houseless folks at Circle K’s, in washes, along bike paths, near bus stops, and in vacant lots. After collecting demographic information (age, race, gender, etc.), we asked questions about how long an individual had been homeless, whether they use services aimed at supporting people experiencing homelessness, and if not, why not. 

I was struck by how widespread homelessness is and by the diversity of our homeless population. We interviewed one man at a bus stop that I regularly use to commute home from work – the stop in front of the Safeway at Campbell and Broadway along the Route 8. Some folks we interviewed were living in a wash just off a street that I used to bike along on my way to work; five days a week for 6 months, I had biked within 100 feet of an encampment and never known it. We also spoke with a man the same age as my father and another man only a couple of years older than me, and many of the folks we talked to indicated that they’d been homeless for more than a year. 

Between our conversations with those on the street, I asked questions of my team members – all three of them had work experience at organizations dedicated to helping houseless people. We talked about barriers to solving homelessness, high turnover and burnout among social workers, and I learned that LGBTQ+ youth and youth who have “aged out” of foster care are at particularly high risk of becoming homeless. 

From left to right: PIT Count volunteers Shannon, Carissa, Ben, and Zach

During the count, I was asked not to take photos of people, camps, or even abandoned encampments that we came across. I was given the explanation that these photos often sensationalize, misrepresent, and exploit the experiences of our unhoused neighbors. They do this by reducing a complex human experience to easily consumed images of tents and tarps, grocery carts, or debris in a wash, and obscuring the many complex causes of homelessness.  

I’d like to send a big thank you to the many volunteers who made this year’s PIT Count possible, to my team lead Zach, and to my team members Ben and Carissa. Each year, TPCH needs over 300 volunteers for the Count, so please consider signing up next year! The results of this year’s Count will be released to the public after the data is cleaned and approved at the federal and local levels, likely in May or June this year. 

Kent Burbank (Southern Arizona Constituent Services Director for Governor Hobbs) by Marlene Avelino

The Ward 3 staff met with Kent Burbank, the new Southern Arizona Constituent Services Director for recently elected Governor Katie Hobbs. The position isn’t new, but it’s been awhile since it has been filled. The role hasn’t been staffed since 2009 when Janet Napolitano sat in the Arizona Governor's seat.

From left to right: Marlene Avelino, Shannon Jenkins, Kent Burbank, and CJ Boyd

You might already know Kent Burbank. He lives on Tucson’s west side with his husband, and they’ve been in Tucson over 23 years now. Kent has worked for more than two decades in senior leadership roles in the field of social and human services, and most recently as a Professor of Social Work at Pima Community College for the last seven years. Previously, Kent worked for eight years in the Victim Services Division of the Pima County Attorney’s Office under Barbara LaWall. And before that, he spent six years at the Wingspan Community Center - a much beloved resource center for LGBTQ+ community members that shuttered its doors in 2015. Clearly, Kent cares about community and Southern Arizona. We are thrilled that Governor Hobbs not only brought back a role that deals directly with people south of the Gila river but that she brought on someone so knowledgeable and compassionate about the issues.

He met with our team this week to introduce himself and ask a few questions about how we get the job done. Kent is in the process of meeting with staff from elected officials in Southern Arizona and laying the groundwork to get the office up and running.

We are excited that Governor Hobbs is committed to "regional equity," and establishing Constituent Services in Southern Arizona is a great start. We look forward to working with and supporting Kent in his new role!

Norte-Sur Tour by CJ Boyd

Norte-Sur is a plan for equitable Transit-Oriented Development along a proposed High Capacity Transit line that would connect Tucson along a north-south corridor. Many of the plans details have not yet been determined, and an extensive public engagement process is ongoing. Last week, as a part of that process, planners from the Department of of Transportation and Mobility invited city staff to take a tour along some possible routes for the project.

City of Tucson staff from various departments, representatives from the University of Arizona, and city staff from South Tucson were invited to see first-hand what infrastructure already exists along the proposed routes and to discuss what kinds of development the City could pursue as part of Norte-Sur.

We met at the Ronstadt Transit Center and began by discussing proposed improvements to the downtown Transit Center itself. A common theme throughout the tour was the importance of thinking holistically about the entire city and its mobility needs, especially the under-served.

City staff from various departments meet at Ronstadt Transit Center

From Ronstadt, half of the group rode the 18 bus (S. 6th Ave.) south to the Laos Transit Center. The rest us rode the 16 bus (Oracle / Ina) up to the Tohono Tadai Transit Center and then returned downtown on the 19 bus (Stone Ave.). Both the 16 and 19 routes are being considered for Notre-Sur, and this allowed us to compare them. As the Ward 3 representative, I rode with the group that headed north.

City staff listen to Davita Mueller, Service Planning and Development Director for Sun Tran at Tohono Tadai Transit Center

By coincidence, our tour ran into Kristin Woodall, Care Coordinator with the Community Safety Health and Wellness program and former Ward 3 Council Staff along with Melissa Miller from the Pima County Health Department, offering services at Tohono Tadai Transit Center.

It’s worth noting that Route 18 (S. 6th Ave.) is currently Sun Tran’s busiest bus route, and that Route 16 (Oracle / Ina) is the second busiest, which is why these lines are being considered for the Bus Rapid Transit treatment. Though BRT still uses a bus, BRT lines typically have dedicated bus lanes, and the routes are coordinated with the traffic signals to give priority to the bus. Some BRT lines even use platforms closer to what we use for the Sun Link Streetcar. All these features dramatically increase the speed of BRT lines so that they function somewhere between a typical bus route and a light rail system.

In some BRT systems, pre-ticketing or free fares also reduce delays. While buses are currently fare-free in Tucson through the end of June, the City Council has not yet determined whether fares will remain free indefinitely. 

City staff riding the 19 bus down Stone Avenue, along with other bus-riders, discussing transit infrastructure.

Worldwide there are over 150 other cities with BRT systems. Over a third of these cities are located in Latin America, where Brazil boasts almost 11 million daily BRT riders. Similarly, China has with over 4 million daily BRT riders, and Iran has over 2 million.

The tour and discussion were valuable steps towards achieving the goals of equity and improved mobility for everyone. Our group included people who said they'd never ridden a bus in Tucson as well as  some who ride the bus regularly— for instance this Ward 3 staffer rides the bus multiple times a week, including the 19 which has a stop just two blocks from my house in Keeling. Since many of us will have input on Norte-Sur, the tour was a great direct experience with the proposed routes.

Thank you to all the volunteers at recent Tucson Clean and Beautiful events in Ward 3!

We thank Tucson Clean and Beautiful and all the volunteers who turned out over the last few weeks to pull buffelgrass and bermuda grass, pick up litter, and plant trees in the Sugar Hill and Keeling neighborhoods.

Next Mayor and Council Meeting
The next Mayor and Council Meeting is on Tuesday, February 7th.
The agenda is available here: Mayor and Council Meeting Agendas

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association and Coalition Meetings
Balboa Heights Neighborhood Association
Tuesday, February 7th, 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Marty Birdman Center, 2536 N.Castro Ave.

Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association
Wednesday, February 8th, 6:00- 7:00 pm
Donna R. Liggins Recreation Center, 2160 N. 6th Ave.

Country Glenn Neighborhood Association
Wednesday, February 8th, 6:00- 7:00 pm
Pocket Park at Treat and Alturas, 2525 N. Treat Ave.

The Ward 3 office is open open at 1510 E. Grant Rd. from 9 am - 1 pm, Monday through Friday. Staff will answer phone messages, emails and requests for meetings by the next business day. Leave your message at 520-791-4711 or email [email protected].

Ward 3 Events
Bronx Park Rain Garden Planting Party on Sunday, February 5th!

Bronx Park neighbors are celebrating the completion of two new community raingardens! Join us for a sunny Sunday morning of playing in the dirt as we plant trees and pollinator plants with the neighborhood. A buffelgrass pull will also be taking place in the nearby Bronx Wash for those wanting an urban jungle adventure! Come learn with us, grow with us, and be part of building a more resilient Tucson.

This heat vulnerable neighborhood is harvesting the rain to grow a pollinator pocket park and tree-lined greenway for walkers and bikers. THANKS to these amazing partners: Bronx Park Neighborhood, One Big Yard, Thrive in the 05, Tucson Water, Ward 3, and Dryland Design.

VITA at Ward 3 Saturdays through April 15th

Once again, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) will be available at Ward 3 on Saturdays beginning this Saturday, January 28th, from 9am to 1pm. Appointments are required and can be made online here: unitedwaytucson.org/vita. If you have questions about the program at Ward 3, please call 520-837-4231 and leave a message so one of the Ward 3 VITA volunteers can return your call.

United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona’s VITA program trains hundreds of volunteers each year to provide FREE tax preparation to thousands of households throughout Arizona. Taxpayers who use our service have the opportunity to work with IRS-certified VITA volunteer tax preparers, and every return is quality reviewed for accuracy and to ensure you receive the largest refund possible! Let us ease the financial and mental burden of tax season. Visit us at a VITA tax site this tax season – we can’t wait to see you! Tax sites and online preparation begin the week of January 23rd - visit unitedwaytucson.org/vita to learn more about our program and the variety of ways you can access our services! VITA tax preparation services are available to households earning less than $73,000. AARP Foundation is a sponsor of The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona’s 2023 VITA Program.

Poetry Writing and Reading on Tuesday, February 7th!

Valentine's Day Tea Party on Tuesday, February 14th in the Blue Moon Garden!

Weeducate Yourself on Saturday, February 11th at 9 am!  At McCormick Park

Family Game Night at the Donna Liggins Center on Friday, February 17th !

Tucson Parks and Recreation’s Donna Liggins Center (2160 N 6th Ave.) is hosting a free Family Fun Night on Friday, February 17th from 6-8 p.m. The event will include a game night with board games, card games, and video games for the whole family to enjoy. There will also be food, drinks, and a prize raffle. Call (520) 791-3247 to reserve a spot.  

Literacy Connects Clean Up on Saturday, February 18th!

Literacy Connects adopted Prince Rd. from First Ave. to Oracle Road in 2017 through Tucson Clean & Beautiful's Adopt a Street program. In 2020, they adopted Yavapai Rd. from Stone Ave. to First Ave. as well.

Weather permitting, their next scheduled trash pickup will be Saturday, February 18th, from 9:30-11:00 am. Family and friends are welcome. Please email Rebecca Werner ([email protected]) if you're interested in joining. They'll meet at Literacy Connects (200 E. Yavapai Rd.) at 9:30 to get vests, gloves, grabbers, and trash bags.

Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans Clothing and Hygiene Drive at Ward 3 Office

The Ward 3 office will be collecting donations to Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans through March 15th. New hygiene items and new and gently used clothing are requested.

Grocery Sharing at Tucson Food Share - 2500 N. Stone Ave.

Groceries are shared Mondays and Thursdays from 6pm-8pm and Saturdays from 8am-10am. https://tucsonfoodshare.org/ has more information about volunteering, donating, or requesting delivery.

Ready, Set, REC! in Ward 3 in February

Digital Storytelling Training Series in April

City Wide Events
The Plan Tucson Survey is now available!

The City of Tucson is starting a two-year process to update the City’s General and Sustainability Plan from 2013, known as Plan Tucson. During the first phase, in Spring 2023, Tucson residents will be asked to share their priorities and vision for the future of Tucson. This information will help us identify visions and goals for initial refinement by the Plan Tucson Working Groups that are in development. The Plan Tucson Update Team is grateful for your contributions to assess the city’s challenges and needs and guiding Tucson’s long-term direction. Take the survey here

Sign up to donate your citrus to the Iskashitaa Refugee Network! using this link: https://www.iskashitaa.org/donate-your-fruit

Peace Fair and Music Festival on Saturday, February 25th

Get Paid to Get Lifeguard Certified!

Are you or someone you know looking for a part-time job? Tucson Parks and Recreation is hiring lifeguards to operate and maintain the safety at City pools year-round. The minimum age to be a lifeguard is 15 years old. Pay starts at $16.75/hour.

The City will pay applicants to get their Lifeguard Certification through the City’s certification path. The lifeguard class is an intense, fast-paced course, and strong swim skills are required. All applicants must pass a swim test to qualify. For more information on becoming a lifeguard or to register for the swim test, visit the website.

Read Tucson's Draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) !

Throughout 2022, the City worked to develop a climate action and adaptation plan that will provide a strategic pathway to reduce the City’s emissions to net zero by 2030, explain the anticipated impacts of climate change across the City, identify the communities that will be most vulnerable to those impacts, and provide strategies that will assure that Tucson can adapt and be resilient to the impacts of climate change – now and in the future. The City has posted the draft climate action and adaptation plan, "Tucson Resilient Together," on the Climate Action Hub website here. The plan is open for public review and comments until Tuesday, February 21st. Use the link on that site to add your comments on the plan.

Sign Up for Tucson's Climate Action Report!   

You can use this link to subscribe to the Climate Action Report through the City Manager's Office:https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZTUCSON/subscriber/new

Above: 2022 Climate Action Measurements from the December 16th Action Report

Did You Know?

Connect Arizona Affordable Connectivity Program

Tucson Water Discounts

Call 520-791-5443 to make an appointment or visit this site for more information: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/water/low-income-assistance-program

We welcome your feedback !

Please feel free to email us at [email protected]

To subscribe to this newsletter please go to https://www.tucsonaz.gov/ward-3