From left to right: Ian Johnson, Farhad Moghimi, Jonathan Rothschild and Daryl Cole cut the ribbon on the new bike lane in downtown Tucson.
From left to right: Ian Johnson, Farhad Moghimi, Jonathan Rothschild and Daryl Cole cut the ribbon on the new bike lane in downtown Tucson.

The mayor released his two-year progress update this week and discussed bikes.

The first was in relation to tourism and the bike share.

Tucson continues to host pro cycling races; tournaments in baseball, golf, soccer and softball at the amateur, professional and/or international level; and the annual Fiesta de los Vaqueros and Tour de Tucson. The Mayor’s Office is working with city staff to secure private sponsorships for a bike share program, a popular amenity with tourists as well as residents. A bike share program will also help Tucson become one of six cities in the United States to be designated a Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

The second was an entire section on biking and walking.

In 2013, Mayor and Council voted to put $1.8 million of HUD Section 108 loan guarantee funds toward sidewalk construction ADA compliance. Also in 2013, Allstate Insurance Company worked with the Tucson Department of Transportation to create the Look Twice, Tucson safety campaign, still in effect. In 2015, Mayor Rothschild joined the national safety campaign Mayor’s Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets, with an increased focus on both enforcement and engineering. Working with the Tucson Department of Transportation and the Pima Association of Governments, Mayor Rothschild secured federal funding to create a bike share program for Tucson and is now soliciting sponsorships to cover operating costs. Through TDOT, PAG and the Regional Transportation Authority, more and safer bikeways and crosswalks have been constructed within city limits. Mayor’s Office staff have worked with the bike community, Davis-Monthan, and Pima County to bring the 100-Acre Wood project, a mountain bike trail facility near the base, to the next stage of development.

5 thoughts on “Mayor talks bikes in progress update”
  1. What pro cycling race was he refering to? I can’t think of one. 

    The costs that Pima county charge to permit and put on a bike race are atrocious causing most bike races to try and put them on in other counties whenever possible due to the high costs.

  2. KyleVanRenterghem I figure he means the races in which pros sometime ride in them. Thinking TBC specifically.

  3. Mike, do you have any links to the Wood project? I’ve never heard of it, but I’m curious. Google didn’t land me on anything helpful.
    Do you know more about when it’s likely to open, what it will contain, or anything else?
    Thanks in advance.

  4. @ignorant drivers It’s something I have been meaning to write about. Here’s a little snippet on TucsonMTB. http://www.tucsonmtb.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=76173

    Basically it’s a dirt bike park.

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