Adriana Zuniga
03/09/18 08:14:pm
Our team has engaged with members of the City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT) since its origins. The Transportation Program Coordinator, Ann Chanecka, provided a letter of support for the proposal, and has attended several meetings along with her colleague Andy Bemis. Although they fully support the idea of greening streets and that combining green infrastructure with biking is a synergy for safety and health, they also acknowledge the multiple hurdles of moving beyond the traditional grey infrastructure practice at the TDOT.
In addition, they took over the Liberty Bike Boulevard project after decades of being in limbo. The long time that has passed since the bike boulevard was proposed to the residents and the lack of action has produced negative feelings and frustration in the community. Engagement with the community about the bike boulevard has been very limited. They are reluctant to reviewing the design of the boulevard because this would delay action even further. Finally, the design of the project is being finalized and they estimate breaking ground in the spring 2018. We found a small window of opportunity to influence design and policy by introducing green infrastructure to the project design.
Our partners at Watershed Management Group (WMG) studied carefully the proposed enhancements for the bike boulevard and considered the stormwater flow using data from Pima Association of Governments. They were able to identify several opportunities for green infrastructure that could be included in the design. Our WMG partners met with TDOT Project Managers, Gary Wittwer and Sarah Spenser to discuss this possibility. While reluctant to change their traditional practice, they accepted some changes including the widening of traffic circles, the possibility of leaving new circles unpaved, and the potential of allowing some curb cuts to allow stormwater infiltration in specific areas. They require, however, that residents commit to maintain green infrastructure, as landscape maintenance is not part of the responsibilities of the TDOT. They also want to make sure the City is not liable for potential flooding damage in private property as a consequence of curb cuts. City officials asked for input on the design of green infrastructure from WMG. We are working on integrating city regulations with design specifications for green infrastructure.
Our team met on September 29, 2017 at TDOT offices to discuss potential opportunities for green infrastructure along the Liberty Bike Boulevard. Although the meeting was productive, we learned that the consulting company hired to design the bike boulevard is almost done with the project, so there is limited opportunities for changes. Nevertheless, they are willing to accept modifications as long as we deliver specific changes that are supported by members of the community.
In light of all of the impediments from the city to change, we saw a window of opportunity along traffic circles because curb cuts do not affect private property and the City is not liable for flooding damages. We would need to find neighbors who are willing to adopt traffic circles before the end of the spring semester. If we manage to do this, the City will consider leaving these circles unpaved, decreasing the cost of green infrastructure implementation significantly. Next steps of this project include the engagement of neighbors who live close to proposed traffic circles. We will approach the Ward office to get help with their contact information.
