TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A group of neighbors along Fifth Street in Midtown are organizing to stop construction they say is making their street too narrow for emergency vehicles and parking.
The residents aren't opposed to the road construction itself, but rather a frontage road that runs alongside their homes. Construction began in spring 2024 along Fifth and Sixth streets from Campbell to Alvernon, with pedestrian safety features like sidewalks funded by Proposition 407, which Tucson voters approved in 2018.
Monir Gharbiah said the narrowed frontage road creates problems for emergency services and transportation for seniors in the area.
"The ambulance, the fire department comes through more often because we have lots of seniors here. We have a group home here where SunVan comes to pick them up and they block this road," Gharbiah said.
The frontage road was previously nearly 20 feet wide but city construction has slimmed it down to 14 feet after adding 5-foot-wide ADA compliant sidewalks and 3 feet for landscaping. This eliminates space for parking and two-way traffic.
Gharbiah organized a petition gathering 17 signatures from neighbors opposing the changes.
Dean Zimmerman, who has lived near Fifth Street since 1955, said parking is a major concern for his family.
"My wife and I have 5 children between us have five children, and when we have a family get-together… where are people going to park? I can't even park my own truck in front of my house," Zimmerman said.
He worries about the impact on property values.
"I'm sure that our property value's going to drop because who's going to buy a house where you only have a two-car driveway and nobody else can park unless they park two blocks away," Zimmerman said.
While neighbors knew about the construction for years, they say they weren't told about all the changes.
"They did send a card, a post card, the way it's going to look which is really nice, but nothing [was] mentioned that they're going to cut that frontage road," Gharbiah said.
The neighbors want the city to remove the landscaping, move the sidewalk to border the bike lane, and restore their paved street.
"Give us back a paved street—what we had and have had for 60 years. Please do that for us," Gharbiah said.
I reached out to the Department of Transportation and Mobility to see if it's possible to change the project design, but that was after business hours. We're still working to get that response.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
