FY 2008-09 Annual Report 177 N. Church Ave. Suite 405 • Tucson AZ 85701 • (520) 770-9410 [tel] • (520) 620-6981 [fax] www.RTAmobility.com Dec. 16, 2009 2009 RTA Board In its third fiscal year, the Regional Transportation Authority placed a strong emphasis on transit with the introduction of a regional seamless transit concept in January 2009. The concept encompasses a rebranding of regional transit systems, incorporating “Sun” from Sun Tran and including Sun Van, Sun Express, Sun Shuttle and Sun Rideshare. RTA Chair Ed Honea Mayor of Marana Ed Honea, Chairman RTA Board of Directors In May 2009, the RTA announced new transit circulator service in the communities of Marana, Oro Valley/Catalina and Green Valley/Sahuarita. The neighborhood circulators connect to the main Sun Tran system and allow customers to reach new destinations. During FY 2008-09, the RTA also entered the arena of project management. The RTA is now directly managing the planning and design and construction of 40 bus pullouts. Once again, the RTA Board encouraged the RTA and member jurisdictions to accelerate projects, particularly as cost estimates dropped in the wake of our economic downturn. The RTA actually expended more on construction and services than it collected during the fiscal year, but this was anticipated, and the RTA closed the year with a healthy fund balance of nearly $107 million. As we progress into FY 2009-2010, we plan for the RTA fund balance to further be reduced, as we construct important improvements, provide needed transit services and stimulate our own local economy. As part of this investment in our local economy, the RTA commenced work on the first two Roadway Element Projects during FY 2008-2009. The Twin Peaks interchange will provide much needed additional interstate access in the northwest part of our region, and a new grade separated railroad crossing, and the I-19 Frontage Road project in Green Valley will greatly improve mobility in the southern end of Green Valley. Another seven major roadway projects are expected to break ground in FY 2009-2010. By the fourth anniversary of the RTA passage, nine of the 11 first implementation period projects will be under construction. Safety, Environment and Economic Vitality, and Transit improvements are occurring all over this region, improving our quality of life, reducing our costs of travel, and enhancing our environment. Sincerely, Ed Honea, Chairman, RTA Board of Directors RTA Vice Chair Lynne Skelton Mayor of Sahuarita RTA Second Vice Chair Robert Valencia Vice Chairman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Ramon Valadez Pima County Board of Supervisors Jennifer Eckstrom Mayor of South Tucson Robert Walkup Mayor of Tucson Paul Loomis Mayor of Oro Valley Ned Norris Jr. Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation Si Schorr (Jan.-Sept.) Steve Christy (Oct.-Dec.) Arizona State Transportation Board Member 2009 CART Committee James Barber Robert Cook Joseph Dhuey Donovan Durband Grace Evans Kentton Grant Javier Fernando Herrera David Heineking Douglas Mance George McFerron Marty Moreno Albert Pesqueira William N. Poorten III Armando Rios Jr. Dick Roberts Charlene Robinson Larry Steckler Herb Trossman Roger Yohem Thais Young M. Joe Yee Colin Zimmerman Jurisdiction Representatives Anna Jolivet, Tucson CART finds the RTA runs on track for FY 2008-09 The Citizens Accountability for Regional Transportation (CART) Committee meets Kelle Maslyn, Chair quarterly to review the activities of the CART Committee Regional Transportation Authority toward implementing the projects and services approved by Pima County voters on May 16, 2006. As we look back on FY 2008-09 activities of the RTA and member jurisdictions, we find that they are on track with the RTA plan. We are pleased that the RTA is encouraging the jurisdictions to accelerate projects and we applaud the RTA for taking on the role of directly managing project implementation, including 40 bus pullouts. We also received reports on the financial status of the RTA, and the CART Committee members believe the fiscal and operational performance in the past fiscal year meets the obligations as spelled out in the RTA plan. We encourage you to visit the RTA’s new Web site at www. RTAmobility.com to check on project updates and bulletins. 2009 Technical Management Committee David Longoria, South Tucson Kelle Maslyn, Marana Charles Mendonca, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Curt Lueck, Pima County Dennis Skelton, Sahuarita Tom Bush, Oro Valley Dr. Selso Villegas, Tohono O’odham Nation Jurisdiction Representatives Private Sector Representatives John Bernal, Pima County Gilbert Davidson, Town of Marana Jim Glock, City of Tucson Chuck Huckelberry, Pima County Richard Miranda, City of Tucson Enrique Serna, City of South Tucson Jim Stahle, Town of Sahuarita Fred Stevens, Tohono O’odham Nation Francisco Valencia, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Jerene Watson, Town of Oro Valley Roger Caldwell Willam Carroll Paul Cella Chet Davis Jordan Feld Katrina Heineking Bob Ianarrino Jim Schoen Frank Thomson Marshall Worden A year in review Substantial milestones occurred in FY 2008-09, most notably the commencement of construction on the first of the 35 Roadway Element projects. In May, two RTA Roadway projects broke ground. Houghton Road (project No. 32) improvements commenced at the intersection of Old Vail Road, kicking off a series of improvements on that corridor. The Twin Peaks Interchange (project No. 3) then broke ground in the Town of Marana. This $81 million interchange project will create a new access point to the Continental Ranch area of Marana as well as a future connection to the Tortolita Mountains foothills by way of the RTA’s forthcoming Camino de Mañana project. The Green Valley community also saw the groundbreaking of the Interstate 19 eastside frontage road (project No. 35) in June. Five other Roadway Element projects broke ground in 2009. Other major milestones for the RTA include the approval of roadway alignments for Grant Road, Downtown Links and 22nd Street, between Tucson Boulevard and Park Avenue. Progress in the Safety Element included the commencement of construction of the Grant and Craycroft intersection, one of the 10 most congested intersections in the region, as well as completion of 19 high-intensity actuated cross-walk (HAWK) pedestrian crossings. Thirteen new bus pullouts also were constructed at high transit use locations along major corridors. Environmental & Economic Vitality Element activities included the construction of new sidewalks throughout the region as well as the establishment of new bike lanes. The RTA’s MainStreet small business assistance program provided substantial pre-construction assistance to businesses located within areas influenced by RTA roadway projects. Many new transit improvements occurred during the 2009 fiscal year. The RTA helped purchase 55 new buses for Sun Tran, rolled out a re-branding program to fully integrate all of the region’s public transit services into a seamless service, with a single point of information for the public. May of 2009 also marked the commencement of a new transit service for the region, Sun Shuttle, which uses smaller vehicles to serve the growing communities of Green Valley/Sahuarita, Oro Valley/Catalina, and Marana with neighborhood transit services, offering opportunities to travel within those communities, as well as to connect to the Sun Tran routes serving the region’s core. While the revenues collected by the RTA were negatively affected by the economy, bids on new construction have been very competitive, erasing the recent spike in costs of roadway construction. FY 2008-09 FY 2008-09 Projects Projects Completed In Construction Plan Element as of 6-30-09 as of 6-30-09 RTA Project Status Roadways In Construction • Twin Peaks, Silverbell to I-10 (including Interchange) Roadway Total Roadway 0 3 Safety • Houghton & Old Vail Intersection Intersection 42 18 • I-19 Frontage Road, 29 2 Continental to Canoa Road Elderly & Pedestrian In Planning and Design • Camino de Mañana, Linda Vista to Tangerine • Magee/Cortaro Farms, La Cañada to Thornydale • La Cholla Blvd., River to Ruthrauff • La Cañada, Calle Concordia to River • Broadway, Euclid to Country Club • Grant Road, Oracle to Swan • 22nd. Street, I-10 to Tucson Blvd. • Valencia, Ajo to Mark Road • Tanque Verde, Catalina Hwy. to Houghton • Houghton, I-10 to Tanque Verde • Sahuarita, I-19 to Country Club Bus Pullouts 22 1 Signal Technology 9 4 Total Safety 102 25 Environmental & Economic Vitality Greenways, Bikeways, Pathways & Sidewalks 8 5 Transportation-related Critical Wildlife Linkages 1 2 Total Environmental & Economic Vitality 9 7 Transit Weekday Evening 21* 0 Weekend Expansion 23 0 Bus Frequency & • Magee, La Cañada to Oracle Overcrowding Relief • Downtown Links, I-10 to Broadway 7** 1** Special Needs 2 0 Neighborhood Circulator • Speedway, Camino Seco to Hough High Capacity Streetcar ton Total Transit • Tangerine, I-10 to La Cañada 8 3 0 1 61 5 • Silverbell, Ina to Grant • Kolb, extension to Sabino Canyon • La Cholla, Magee to Tangerine • Valencia, Alvernon to Kolb * 21 routes received weekday evening service, fully implementing this service expansion ** 7 routes received overcrowding relief; construction of a bus maintenance facility was under way on 6-30-09 FY 2008-09 RTA Financial Report (000’s) Revenues Sales Tax $ 66,927 Investment Income $ 4,575 Total Revenues $ 71,502 Expenditures Roadway Improvements Total Roadway $ 24,796 Safety Intersection $ 10,010 Transit Corridor Bus Pullouts $ 1,413 Elderly & Pedestrian $ 3,150 At-grade Rail/ Bridge Deficiencies $ – $ 1,213 Signal Technology Total Safety $ 15,786 Environmental & Economic Vitality Greenways, Bikeways, Pathways & Sidewalks $ 2,367 Transportation-related Critical Wildlife Links $ 27 Small Business Assistance $ 398 Total Environmental & Economic Vitality $ 2,792 Transit Sun Tran Services Expansion $ 20,644 Special Needs $ 2,600 New Buses & Maintenance Facilities $ 2,912 Neighborhood Circulator $ 529 Modern Streetcar $ 5,305 Total Transit Administration Expenses $ 31,990 $ 626 Total Expenditures $ 75,990 Surplus/(Deficit) $ (4,488) Year-end Fund Balance $ 106,946 RTA Projects Expected to Commence Construction in FY 2009-10 Roadway Improvements Camino de Mañana, Tangerine to Linda Vista La Cañada, Ina-Calle Concordia La Cholla, River to Ruthrauff Sahuarita Road, I-19 to La Villita Speedway, Camino Seco to Houghton Tanque Verde, Catalina Highway to Houghton Safety - Intersection Campbell & Ft. Lowell Wilmot & Golf Links Wilmot & Park Place Starr Pass & Mission Camino Verde & Valencia Alvernon & Los Reales Continental & Camino del Sol Safety - Bus Pullouts Various Locations, Regionwide Environmental & Economic Vitality Provide MainStreet Small Business Assistance Program Restriping for Bike Lanes, Regionwide New Sidewalks, Regionwide Arroyo Chico Greenway Pantano River Park Transit Services to Be Implemented in FY 2009-10 Enhanced Sun Shuttle Service in Marana Incorporation of Pima Rural Transit into Sun Shuttle FY 2008-09 RTA and Plan Highlights Regional Seamless Transit – In January 2009, the Regional Transportation Authority unveiled plans for a regional seamless transit system. The regional seamless transit concept began with voter approval of $533 million in transit service improvements as part of the RTA plan. stops and transit centers that will be installed in the future to provide improved information about the integrated system, connection information and maps. Grant Alignment – The Grant Road Improvement Project citizens’ task force adopted a Grant Road alignment, In order to ensure that all of the new transit services which was approved by the Tucson City Council on Jan. work together as efficiently as possible, the RTA formed 13, 2009. The Tucson Department of Transportation used a working group in 2006 to discuss the a context sensitive solutions’ approach best way to retain and attract riders to the during its public outreach efforts to help The Regional Transportation Authority growing regional system. The working reach consensus for the alignment. The posts the following project status group included all the transit partners task force is scheduled in early 2010 to maps online: from the jurisdictions to develop the begin to develop recommendations for • Road Project Status Map regional approach. On Jan. 31, 2008, streetscape design. The $167 million the RTA Board approved the group’s Grant Road project, the largest road • RTA Bus Pullouts Map) recommendation for a seamless transit project in the RTA plan, will add one • RTA Park-and-Ride lots system and the funding needed to new travel lane in each direction and • Intersection Improvements Map implement the improvements. will include a new left turn function (Safety) that will have drivers go through the The seamless concept began with a newly intersection , enter a left turn lane , make • Elderly and Pedestrian Safety branded look and family of names for all a U-turn back to the intersection and Improvements (Safety) regional transit vehicles. Colors for the then turn right - also referred to as an new image are a mix of metallic silver, • Greenways, Pathways, Bikeways, indirect left turn. The indirect left turn blue, yellow, and white for all the vehicles Sidewalks (Bike and Ped) will dramatically improve mobility on to provide a unified look. the roadway by avoiding traffic backups • Pedestrian Crossings Map (Bike and Neighborhood transit circulators started that occur with traditional left turns. For Ped) service in outlying areas of the region in more information and schematics, visit www.rtamobility.com/RTAPlan/ May and the Sun Shuttle vehicles carry www.grantroad info. RTAPlanDocumentsandMaps.aspx the regional transit branding. Sun Shuttle First Roadway Element Projects is funded and managed by the RTA. Break Ground – The first two of Passengers can transfer between Sun Shuttle and Sun Tran the 35 Roadway Element projects in the RTA Plan broke easily, with no fare increase. ground in the spring of 2009. The long anticipated Twin Plans are in the works to use new fare payment technology Peaks Interchange was started in Marana, as well as the I-19 via a “smart card” that customers may use on Sun Tran, Sun Frontage Road in Green Valley. All 11 first implementation Express and Sun Shuttle. This will simplify the process of period projects are expected to be under construction by transferring from one transit vehicle to another, including the end of the first five years of the RTA Plan, as promised. the modern streetcar. In fact, 22 of the 35 Roadway Element projects were in some form of planning or development during FY 2008-2009. The regional concept also includes new signage for bus 177 N. Church Ave., Suite 405 Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 770-9410 [tel] (520) 620-6981 [fax]