"Not just a way to get from A to B" - Complete Streets in Tucson, AZ

“Complete Streets is more about a philosophy or an approach, and putting equity at the centerpiece of it…is a critical tenet of that…we can’t think about Complete Streets without thinking about disparities and equity issues that come with that.” - Evren Sönmez from the Living Streets Alliance
Our newest video tells the story of how Tucson’s community is building both advocacy for and physical implementations of Complete Streets while putting equity at the center of the work.
Complete Streets are streets for everyone-designed and managed to prioritize safety, comfort, and access to destinations for all people who need to use a street.
Produced by the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America, with the support and partnership of CityHealth. Look for other stories about Pittsburgh and Louisville on our channel. Learn more by finding us on the web and Twitter:
completestreets.org / @completestreets
smartgrowthamerica.org / @smartgrowthusa
Cityhealth.org / @city_health
(Video production by Forever Ready Productions)

[@cemilner]

Great video! I really enjoyed Grecia's statement that the value of streets as a public place, not just a way to get from A to B. Complete streets are not just about efficient transportation, but also about cultivating the kind of place where people are out and about connecting to each other.

[@diversehorizons]

agreed

[@deezynar]

Badly done video.
All feel-good and fluff, without any meat.
It didn't once mention that federal guidelines mandate how streets are designed, and municipalities have no freedom to violate those guidelines. That makes the federal government the biggest enemy of pedestrians and cyclists. The irony is that the guidelines exist to make streets safer, and they have made streets safer. They are safer for drivers. Cyclists and pedestrians are not prioritized even though they are the humans who are not cocooned in a protective steel skin. Vehicles are lethal to everyone who isn't in a car, but those who aren't, are unimportant.
If the life of a politician was ended every time a pedestrian, or cyclist, was killed by a car, our laws would have put car safety at the bottom of the priority list long ago.
This video also says nothing about one of the biggest problems facing cyclists in Tucson, that's the number of obstacles that keep cyclists from traversing the city on residential streets. Cyclists are forced by those blockages to divert from the safety of residential streets, and ride on arterials until they get around a blockage.
Some of the blockages are rivers, freeways, and train tracks, which are legitimate, and expensive challenges to deal with.
But an aggravatingly high number of blockages were completely avoidable had intelligent ordinances been in place. Dead end subdivisions, large apartment complexes, strip malls, etc., all go before the city, or county, for approval, and because there is no ordinance requiring them to provide through passage for cyclists and pedestrians, these massive blockages get built with a municipal seal of approval. When I hear municipal employees say that they care about me when I'm walking or cycling, I always think about how they screwed me when they approved dozens of projects around the valley that force me out onto an arterial.
Do you understand that? The very people who made this video, local municipalities, are actually the second biggest group of enemies to pedestrians and cyclists behind the federal government.
What is their solution? It's to narrow arterials to make room for cyclists who don't even want to be there. We need an ordinance that requires large development projects to provide public right-of-way to peds and bikes. And we need to slowly buy land that we let slip through our fingers when we had the chance.

[@diversehorizons]

Your analysis was very thorough and informative. I think your local city/regional planners would really appreciate a herd copy of your input, as a design is only as strong as it’s weakest aspects. Maybe attending a public planning event or a city council meeting as well would constructively benefit your entire community. 💚

[@oldtanker4860]

People keep using the word "equity". I don't think it means what they think it means.

[@diversehorizons]

Do you mind elaborating? Your ideals of equity and the ideals of the people on equity might possibly be playing on the same team.

[@MegaMagicdog]

Exactly! Equity is misery for all - but those at the top.

[@donbell8488]

Hmm how many YEARS has this current council and the current mayor been in positions of leadership to fix problems ?
How about wearing a helmet Evern Sonmez while riding ?
Address the lack of street lighting and the issue drivers under the influence drugs/alcohol who hit people walking and riding.
Final note police do have a function ... like enforcing traffic issues. This video mentions drivers speed.
You know what reduces that is the presence of you guessed it traffic officers.
How about a community that feels safe not just on the roads they travel on but the ones in front of their places of residence.

[@miles5600]

you don't have to wear a helmet if the infrastructure is safe, but the infrastructure isn't safe.
and i agree, the people driving do need to be punished for their actions, but still. good road design doesn't allow drivers to speed.

[@diversehorizons]

In regards to your final note, I think you might be limiting the scope of the police. These days, there are so many components such as traffic cameras, call boxes, and innovative traffic design, that assist making enforcing traffic laws less of a headache for the police.
ruclips.net/video/yITr127KZtQ/видео.htmlfeature=shared