TUCSON, Ariz. -- The clock is ticking on projects designed to keep Tucson cyclists and pedestrians safer.
Construction on those projects is now less than a year away.
As part of the voter approved proposition 407, in 2018 $90,000,000 are set aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
This decision puts some cyclists, like Angel Gallegos, who attends the University of Arizona, more at ease. He says sharing the road with cars on his way to school every morning can be a nightmare.
“any time I hear a gust of wind of a car passing me I kind of just tense up a little bit, getting a little scared each time like someone is going to get a little too close,” Gallegos added.
Fortunately, taking main streets isn’t his only option.
“Bike boulevard. Yeah it’s a really great idea just because it’s safer compared to the major streets. There’s less traffic and just overall people drive slower and a little bit more cautious,” he told KGUN9.
According to Tucson City of Transportation Project Manager, Ryan Fagan, come 2020 over 100 miles of bike boulevards will be built.
“The four bike boulevard corridors that we are looking at are Michigan and Fair street, Green Way Drive, Cherry Avenue, and Bantam Road. Some of the elements of bicycle boulevards that help to calm traffic are traffic circles, speed humps or speed tables, curb bump outs,” sai Fagan.
These projects are made possible by the voter-approved Proposition 407
“That was a bond-package that funded $225,000,000 in parks, and bicycle and pedestrian projects. About 90,000,000 goes to a variety of pedestrian and bicycle projects,” Fagan told KGUN9.
Now Fagan hopes, these projects will be beneficial for the community.
“We’re always working to improve safety on our streets and these are part of that. Our goal is to make it more comfortable for them to get around the city,” the project manager added.
People got together this evening to talk about the upcoming projects at the Cherry Avenue Recreation Center. If you missed it tonight, there will be another session come October 12th at the same location:
5085 S. Cherry Avenue
