TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In Vail, Mary Ann Cleveland Way is a very busy road for most of the day. Now there’s a safer way for people on bikes and people on foot to move through the area.
The pathway is a peaceful refuge from thick traffic on Mary Ann Cleveland Way.
The new multi-use path seems like a simple thing but it is the payoff for a complex process of planning, and pulling money together—from Federal funds, the Regional Transportation Authority and money voters approved with a vote.
Tucson Mayor Regino Romero says, “For me, it's incredibly important to put money into pedestrian and bicycle safety in our community, and these projects delivered to the community. What they voted on, right? They voted on these projects for them to be able to happen, and I'm happy about it.”
That public vote was Prop 407. Voters allowed the city to borrow by buying bonds devoted to parks and connectivity like this path.
The path leads to more than recreation. Vail school superintendent John Carruth says it improves safety for students at three schools along the busy road.
He says, “You know, the Vail School District, part of southeast Tucson, and just infrastructure in general, improvement of roadways is just critical. We're one of the fastest growing regions of Pima County. We've got to look to this area and consider roadway improvements. As you can see, the traffic behind me, it's the middle of the day. This isn't an unusual occurrence, and if we don't invest here, it is not going to keep up with the growth.“
And he’s looking beyond the new path to plans to widen Mary Ann Cleveland to safely carry more traffic.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
