🚗💨 RTA Next: Pima County's Transportation Future Hangs in the Balance

💰🛣️ $2.4 Billion Question: Can Pima County Agree on Transportation Spending? 🏙️🆚🏘️ Urban vs Suburban Showdown in RTA Next Negotiations

Today, we examine all the recent interviews on the Buckmaster Show regarding the future of the RTA program. You are paying for this sales tax; find out why.

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😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾

Imagine all the roads, buses, and sidewalks in your city. 🛣️🚌🚶‍♀️ A group called RTA helps build and fix these things. They use money from a special tax that everyone pays when they buy stuff. 💰 This tax is going to stop in 2026, so the grown-ups in charge are trying to agree on a new plan to keep fixing roads and making buses better. 🤔 But they're having trouble agreeing because different parts of the city want different things. 🤝 Some want more buses, others want bigger roads. 🚍🛣️ If they can't agree, it might be harder to fix roads and have good buses in the future. 😟 They're working hard to find a solution that makes everyone happy! 🤞

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🗝️ Takeaways

• 🚦 RTA Next plan faces 50-50 chance of approval, according to some officials

• 🚌🚗 Major disagreement over the balance between transit and road improvement funding

• 💼 Failure to agree could harm the region's ability to attract businesses and investments

• 💰 RTA generates about $100 million annually, more than state and federal funding combined

• 🗓️ Current RTA plan and funding expire in June 2026, creating urgency for a new agreement

• 🤝 Regional cooperation is seen as crucial for economic development and infrastructure improvement

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What is the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and RTA Next?

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is a critical entity in Pima County, Arizona, responsible for implementing and overseeing regional transportation improvements. Established in 2004 by the Arizona State Legislature, the RTA has shaped the region's transportation landscape over the past two decades.

In 2006, Pima County voters approved a 20-year, $2.1 billion regional transportation plan funded by a half-cent sales tax. This voter-approved plan addressed growing congestion, improved safety and regional mobility, and expanded transportation mode choices to meet regional demands.

Since its inception, the RTA has delivered nearly 1,000 individual projects and services across Pima County. These improvements include new and widened roadway corridors, highway interchanges, innovative intersections, signalized pedestrian crossings, bike lanes and paths, bus pullouts, advanced signal technology, wildlife linkages, drainage improvements, new landscaping, and public art.

The current RTA plan and its half-cent sales tax funding mechanism expire in June 2026. This looming deadline has spurred local leaders to create "RTA Next," a proposed 20-year sales tax extension and a new regional transportation plan.

The RTA Next planning process involves a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from Pima County, Tucson, South Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Tohono O'odham Nation, and the Arizona State Transportation Board. These leaders are working to craft a plan that balances the region's diverse needs while ensuring continued funding for critical transportation projects.

However, as the following report will detail, the process of creating RTA Next has been fraught with challenges, disagreements, and differing priorities among the various jurisdictions involved. The success or failure of this effort will have significant implications for the future of transportation and economic development in Pima County.