The Marana Citizens’ Forum met Tuesday evening, December 3rd, to discuss transportation connectivity within the Town of Marana. There were two objectives of the forum, with recommendations for each.
The first objective was for the creation of a Town-wide Transportation Master Plan. Along with the planning and implementation of a Transportation Master Plan, should be the incorporation of the following key elements, at minimum: traffic studies or a General Plan circulation plan, streets, trails, mass transit, and technology and innovation. The general scope of streets would include signs and signals, smart street technology, and streetscapes incorporating native trees and plants. Pedestrian, bike, and hiking trails should be included, as well as buses, ridesharing and delivery, autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicles within the scope of mass transit.
The Forum also recommends that the Town continue to identify local transportation projects through a combination of the following elements: geographically by growth, programmatic need, traffic studies, contractual obligation, and maintenance and reconstruction needs. The Master Plan should officially incorporate the Town’s Pavement Preservation Plan into it, and lastly, if there is a substantial project or need, the Town explores the need to increase the sales tax in Marana with a sunset date to assist in paying to complete that specific project.
The second objective is to establish a position for the Town on the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) 2 Initiative. The recommendations for this objective are as follows: that the RTA2 focus solely on regional transportation infrastructure projects (to facilitate improved connectivity and safety within Pima County), that the RTA2 not incorporate a maintenance component into the planning for funding, that the Town identify and re-prioritize a new list of projects for RTA2, and that the RTA2 tax threshold remain at a ½ cent tax, as with RTA1.
The recommendations by the Citizen’s Forum are directly presented to the Council. Those recommendations are duly noted by Council, and no further formal action is needed in relation to the recommendations by the Citizens’ Forum. However, when any official action is taken by the Marana Town Council specific to RTA2 or the development of a Transportation Master Plan, the Forum’s recommendations will be considered, along with staff’s recommendations, in formulating the Town’s position on those initiatives.
