Grant Road Improvement Plan FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

All meetings will be open to the public, and in that forum the actions of the Citizen Advisory Committee may be questioned.
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The RTA is the funding source for projects that will be managed by each jurisdiction, including the City of Tucson. Project allocations will be adjusted for inflation annually. Costs exceeding the amount provided by the RTA will be the responsibility of the jurisdiction.
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Other funds may be used in RTA corridors. The City of Tucson receives federal and state funding for transportation improvements; however, most of this is programmed for non-RTA projects. In order to be used, such funds must be programmed into the Pima Association of Governments' (PAG) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The PAG Regional Council adopts the TIP after public hearing. In addition, it is expected that the City will program development impact fees toward RTA projects.
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Although the RTA Board has final approval of all RTA projects, corridor design decisions are likely to be the purview of the jurisdiction in which the project occurs. The alignment will be selected locally. However, it is likely that in order to change an alignment once one is selected, it will require approval of the RTA Board.
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The RTA plan was prepared as a regional plan and all the major projects are considered regional in scope. In order to maintain regional focus and cooperation, each member of the RTA Board has one vote. A citizens oversight committee also is in place to ensure accountability and integrity of the plan.
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The RTA vote called for the creation of six travel lanes on this section of Grant Road where four exist today. It also called for enhanced multi-modal travel opportunities, which includes sidewalk and transit facilities. It did not prescribe the exact design of the new Grant Road cross-section, which will emerge from the planning process. However, in most cases, it will be necessary to use additional space to achieve the requirements of the RTA plan.
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The Grant Road Improvement Plan Task Force will act in an advisory capacity, with the final decision resting with the Mayor and Council.
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The Grant Road planning area includes ¼ mile on each side of the roadway. This is so the planning team can take into account the larger context for the roadway and address such things as pedestrian, bicycle and traffic calming improvements, drainage issues, etc.
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The redevelopment of Grant Road between Oracle and Swan is one of the voter-approved roadway improvements under the new Regional Transportation Authority. Basic requirements are the development of six travel lanes and other facilities that will enhance multi-modal travel opportunities and neighborhood connections along the five-mile route. The planning process began in late 2006 and will last through 2009. Construction of the improvements will occur between 2012 and 2019. The entire process will be guided by a citizen task force, and led by a local and national consulting team specializing in "context sensitive solutions" in roadway design.
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Context-sensitive solutions (CSS) are the art and science of developing places (including streets) in harmony with surrounding areas. CSS seeks to balance safety, mobility, community, and environmental goals in all projects. It involves the public as stakeholders early and continuously, uses an interdisciplinary team tailored to project needs, and addresses all modes of travel, including walking. It applies flexibility inherent in design standards and incorporates aesthetics as an integral part of good design.
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Many voices will have input into the roadway design, following the Context Sensitive Solutions planning model. The City and national consultants will lead an 18-member citizen task force through a facilitated set of workshops and planning sessions. A technical advisory committee of public officials, each with a specific technical background, will provide input to the task force and consultants. The public will have multiple opportunities over 24 months to discuss the project from initial concept through final design stages. More information about public involvement can be found at www.grantroad.info.
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The new roadway will be designed as a community feature combining traffic movement for cars, transit, pedestrians, bikes, and other alternate modes. While six lanes are required under the RTA plan, other design features are open to discussion and planning. This being said, the City generally supports the development of a high quality multi-modal street that encourages walking, transit use, and biking. The streetscape plan will reflect the unique character and "sense of place" of Grant Road as defined by the citizen's task force working closely with the project design team. Examples and prototypes of various thoroughfare and streetscape development options will be on view at public meetings and at www.grantroad.info.
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Grant Road's current design lacks many of the features found in the most modern street design in Tucson, including state-of-the art noise and traffic control features. Through the Context Sensitive Solutions process, citizens and designers will work together to craft a new design for Grant Road that addresses the peace and privacy needs of residents and the mobility needs of the community as well as the exposure and access needs of businesses. The project team includes national experts in the design of roadways that combine the best features of street, streetscape, and land use to create high quality and harmonious patterns of development. The thoughtful reorganization of Grant Road using the latest proven techniques in traffic management and mitigation to minimize negative impacts of noise and traffic is a major goal of Context Sensitive Solutions and the Grant Road project.
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This is a question that will be addressed through the planning process. All of the alternatives for buffering in specific locations will be addressed through that process. It is possible that in some locations people will prefer having stores and shops as an active buffer as opposed to a sound wall. In other locations, a greenway or park-like setting might be preferred.
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The planning process will address traffic impacts on neighborhoods. This will include impacts occurring during and after construction.
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The City is concerned about this issue, and the planning team includes business assistance and land use planning expertise to work on it. One strategy is for the City to advance purchase properties and then rent them back to residents or businesses until such time they are to be used for corridor project purposes. In addition, a land use plan will be adopted as part of the roadway plan to encourage reinvestment and revitalization following construction.
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The Approved Alignment includes a number of locations where local access lanes are planned. These include the area just east of Campbell Avenue on the south side of Grant Road where an access lane currently exists and also in areas which residential properties will remain fronting on Grant Road. These are also areas where access lanes have been recommended to assist with access to and parking for businesses. These locations can be identified on the Approved Alignment maps that are available at www.grantroad.info
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Reconstruction of Grant Road from Oracle Road to Swan Road will be done in six segments. The first improvements will be done at the Grant Road and Oracle Road intersection beginning in 2011 and will continue spanning the RTA’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th periods.
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The widening moves back and forth between the north and south sides of the road. This flexibility is a result of taking a context sensitive solutions approach to the planning. Numerous options for a six-lane road were evaluated. The Approved Alignment was based on a combination of factors that included engineering requirements, public input, historic evaluations, neighborhood and business preservation and enhancement, infrastructure and quality of life issues.
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The following are considered: public input, acquisition costs, landmarks and public places, historic properties, drainage issues, engineering issues/feasibility, land use and revitalization opportunities, and other factors identified through the public process.
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The alignment process is scheduled to take one full year, however, this may be increased depending upon the complexity of issues discovered through the process. Currently, an alignment recommendation is expected in the winter of 2008-2009.
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An Approved Alignment was passed by Mayor and Council on January 13, 2009. The amount of the land required for the new roadway will vary depending upon a number of factors including bicycle, pedestrian, and landscaping amenities, median design and noise mitigation.
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The typical six-lane thoroughfare requires a cross-section of 120 feet, and 150 feet at intersections. Grant Road is currently contained in a cross-section of 80-90 feet. Therefore, it is inevitable that some buildings will need to be removed to accommodate the wider cross-section.
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Community Input received has stressed the importance of creating a safer pedestrian environment for those walking along, crossing and riding their bikes on Grant Road. Continuous sidewalks and frequent pedestrian crossings will be added on Grant Road from Oracle Road to Swan Road. 6-foot wide bike lanes with a 1-foot striped buffer will be created on Grant Road and for riders who still do not feel comfortable riding directly on the roadway parallel bike boulevards will be created on residential streets approximately 1/4 mile north and south of Grant Road.
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The Grant Road Improvement Plan includes conversations with neighborhoods and review of all existing and in progress neighborhood plans. All of this will be factored into the design of the roadway.
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Transit is vitally important to residents and businesses on Grant Road and to the people that travel the area each day. Enhanced bus stops with bus pullouts, bicycle parking, benches, landscaping shading, solar powered lighting, way finding signs, and water harvesting (at some locations) will be included in the Grant Road Improvement Plan.
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Bus shelters are provided through a contract that the City has with a private firm. Once shelter pads are established, the shelters are installed. Such shelter pads are a standard feature of a roadway project. Also, the RTA has funds set aside for bus pullouts, which will include shelter pads.
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All amenities recommended by the task force and adopted by the Mayor and Council will be included in the plan. Sales tax revenue shortfalls will be addressed by accessing other funding sources and by implementing the improvements over time as funding becomes available, not by cutting project features.
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How can we encourage transit-oriented development on the RTA roadway corridors? Mixed use (commercial and residential), higher densities, pedestrian orientation, thriving business areas, increased livability in an urban environment?
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All neighborhood and area plans along Grant Road will be carefully considered in the planning process. The plans will be used to inform decisions made about future land use, design treatments, landscaping and other factors. A land use planning process will occur after an alignment is approved by the Mayor and Council which will involve an extensive public participation process with neighborhood associations.
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Appraisals are made based upon comparable sales in the general area of a specific property, which would include properties not directly on Grant Road.
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This will depend upon the preferences of the owner of the property and recommendations by the appraiser. The City cannot legally use its condemnation authority for more than it needs for public purposes, however, if the owner of the property agrees to full acquisition, the property may provide an opportunity to achieve goals established in the land use planning process.
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An Approved Alignment was passed by Mayor on January 13, 2009. With the approval of the alignment the City will begin acquisition discussions with affected property owners along the roadway. Property acquisitions will begin as RTA funding becomes available.
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Yes. It is the City's responsibility to pay fair market value for any private property it acquires. The City follows federal acquisition and relocation guidelines to determine value and compensate property owners. A full independent and impartial appraisal is done that includes an assessment of comparable sales in the area, inspection of the property, and many other factors. The appraiser makes a recommendation on a full or partial acquisition of the property in addition to determining value. A copy of the appraisal report will be submitted to the property owner with the offer.
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Discussions with property owners will begin soon after an alignment is determined. Property owners must be given at least 90 days written notice to leave the property from the time an offer on the property is made by the City, however, property owners are typically in discussion with the City many months before an offer is made. In addition to paying the fair market value for the property, the City offers relocation benefits to qualifying properties that include such things as moving expenses and assistance with locating a suitable replacement property.
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Currently, property owners have the right to develop their property fully within existing development regulations based on the current Major Streets and Routes setbacks for Grant Road, which are 60-75 feet from the centerline of the road. Once the new roadway alignment is adopted by the Mayor and Council (approximately late 2008 or early 2009), property owners will know the exact location of the new roadway and new development will need to conform to the setbacks established by the new roadway alignment.
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No. However, advance acquisition may be considered.
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Proposition 207, approved by Arizona voters in 2006, defines certain limits upon the City's authority to exercise the power of eminent domain. Proposition 207 limits the use of eminent domain to situations where property taken is put to a public use. Transportation improvement projects are considered a public use, and therefore the City continues to have the authority to exercise eminent domain under Proposition 207.

Proposition 207 also provides that property owners are entitled to just compensation if the fair market value of their property is reduced by the enactment of a new land use law such as a subdivision or zoning regulation. An important component of the Grant Road Improvement Plan will be an urban design and revitalization strategy for property along the roadway. Plans or regulations may be developed as part of this strategy to encourage urban vitality and reinvestment. Any plans or development regulations that may be created as part of this process are expected to be optional (or incentive-based) for property owners, so as to not affect what is allowable under existing zoning. Such regulations would not trigger the compensation requirements of Prop 207.

The first improvements to Grant Road will be at the Grant and Oracle intersection and are anticipated to begin in mid-2011 – two years before the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) had scheduled construction. This project will be a template for future improvements on Grant Road and will showcase the unique design innovations planned for the entire roadway. It will also bring much needed benefits of improved safety, mobility, and access for those who live, work, drive, walk and bike at the Grant-Oracle intersection. This public investment will deliver benefits for users of Grant and Oracle and will also create jobs and provide and economic stimulus for the region. The construction improvements are estimated to cost about $11 million. Utility relocation at the intersection is anticipated to begin in 2011 with reconstruction improvements beginning later that year.

The plan will include a business assistance component that will be reviewed and refined with input from the Task Force and local businesses. The assistance plan will be refined and ready to implement by the end of this planning process and years before actual construction is to begin. It is the intent of the project to minimize disruption to vital businesses along Grant Road and to provide, at the end of the construction process, a high quality environment for local businesses to flourish into the future along with a redeveloped and revitalized Grant Road.
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Based on the availability of funding, construction efficiency, technical requirements, and input from the public the Grant Road Citizen’s Task Force and planning team have finalized the schedule for the improvement of Grant Road. The reconstruction of Grant Road has been divided into six improvement segment projects. The first project will the improvement of the Grant and Oracle intersection from 15th Ave. to Castro Ave. with right-of-way being acquired east to Stone Ave.

Property acquisition will be required for roadway improvements and some areas will be designated for redevelopment and revitalization. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained through the construction process. Access and mitigation plans will be developed and reviewed with impacted property owners long before construction begins. Specific points of contact such as a construction hotline will be established to provide project information and resolve any issues related to the construction.
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City Code and construction contracts require the abatement of noise, dust, and other nuisances during construction. Plans will clearly outline abatement measures required by the city and these plans will be shared with property owners and residents prior to construction.
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