The right-wing “Common Sense Institute of Arizona” has blared its anti-consumer MAGA views by baselessly arguing that Tucson needs more freeways like Phoenix, fewer bike lanes, and no “luxury” free public transit.
In the middle of today’s affordability crisis, this MAGA think tank called no-cost public transit a “luxury,” as if city buses are Porsches. Tucson has had free public transit since March 2020, allowing people to get to work or school without the cost of a car, gas and repairs.
Free transit is essential at a time when gas costs $4.50 per gallon, not to mention the high cost of groceries and housing. The “Common Sense” Institute (CSI) doesn’t care about Tucson workers and retired folks living on limited incomes.
More overcrowded freeways
The Institute complains that Tucson has only two interstates: I-10 and I-19 to get drivers to Phoenix, Nogales and New Mexico. Yet CSI praises Phoenix, which is disfigured by 8 choked interstates with miles-long traffic jams. Anyone who has driven from Tucson to Phoenix knows that the highways are a nightmare.
Phoenix is ranked among the top 10 cities with the worst congestion throughout the city, and on other Valley freeways. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has among the highest traffic fatalities in the country.
City officials should ignore CSI’s wild ravings and counter their arguments that would destroy Tucson’s unique, beloved ambiance and harm hard-working Tucsonans struggling in the affordability crisis.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
We have data on adding lanes/freeways. It’s counterintuitive for sure, but adding capacity just creates even more traffic.
Happens everytime we build more freeways.
Younger homebuyers want walkable, bike-able places to live. Adding bike lanes to my neighborhood would increase the value of my home.
Checking my math, yep, more home value is good for me.
And sadly, because parts of it are so beautiful, the Sonoran desert was a very dumb place to build cities.
In 10 or 20 years all that new freeway capacity will be empty because it’s too f’n hot to live here, and to close the loop, it’s because we have too many cars and not enough mass-transit/bike lanes speeding up the warming process.