Tucson planning for growth along streetcar line

The 3.9-mile-long, 17-stop Tucson streetcar line, planned to connect downtown to neighborhoods to the west and the University of Arizona and University Medical Center, isn't expected to run until 2013. City officials are currently planning for new development resulting from that line.

The City of Tucson wants to create four areas of growth and development around its planned streetcar line, according to a September 17 Inside Tucson Business article. "They are areas where city officials hope to create an opportunity for transit oriented development."

"Charles Hales, senior vice president at HDR Engineering in Portland, Oregon, who presented the case to city officials, said the foremost element that can foster development around a transit line is supportive land use plans."

Tucson’s streetcar could be a “game-changer” when it comes to reviving areas, according to another September 17 article in Inside Tucson Business. "Just as cities popped up along railroad lines in the Old West, the streetcar line will bring with it new development."

"But it will take more than just laying down the tracks ... to get private development funds flowing, argue others." Another consultant, Alex Dupey, senior planner with David Evans and Associates, also in Portland, argues that streetcar lines are not a "silver bullet" but that some practices will help to encourage growth.

"He said it has to mesh well with the urban environment. The zoning could support increased density around the streetcar."