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This last Sunday was the 22nd annual Cyclovia Tucson, organized by Living Streets Alliance.
Three miles of City streets from Broadway Village to La Madera Park were closed to vehicles allowing for walking, roller skating and blading, skateboarding, hula hooping, skipping, strolling, rambling and meandering, and of course, bicycling. Always especially sweet when the route is in ward 3, it felt extra indulgent on the freshly enhanced Treat Bicycle Boulevard!
 Council Member Kevin Dahl with Living Streets Alliance Director Emily Yetman.
While we await the final counts for Sunday’s event, we know their last event in October 2024, through downtown and South Tucson, had 45,000 attendees with 25% attending for the first time. This twice a year event is more than just a massive block party; it's a vision of streets as living public spaces that connect people to places and each other. Participants experience what inclusive mobility for all feels like. Cyclovia is not just a celebration of the bicycle, it’s a celebration of Tucson. These alternative modes of moving about allow us to wave at each other, more easily stop to enjoy the blooming nopales, notice beautiful details on cute homes, discover small businesses, frequent little free seed and book libraries, have random conversations with strangers, the opportunity to be helpful to someone, pick your favorite mural, and general merriment.
 Chelsea Elías with two cute kids on her cargo bike and car free streets ahead.
Tiny but mighty LSA isn’t doing it alone. More than 100 volunteers, support from Tucson's Departments of Transportation and Environmental Services, and a variety of sponsors make this is one of Tucson’s largest community events. An article on the first Cyclovia Tucson in 2010 states that the initial event cost around $10,000 to put on; we can add another zero bringing the current cost to an estimated $100,000. To learn more about Cyclovia and to chip in, visit: cycloviatucson.org
 Folks enjoying the shade and other amenities at La Madera Park during Cyclovia.
April is Earth Month and we kicked off the month with a Team Up to Clean Up event! Council Member Kevin Dahl joined Mayor Romero, Thrive in the ‘05, Environmental Services, Tucson Clean and Beautiful, Canyon Building and Design, and volunteers to clean up in the Miracle Manor Neighborhood, located on the northwest corner of Grant and Oracle.
 A group picture of the clean up participants in front of Sleepy Hollow Development.
We gathered in front of the Sleepy Hollow Housing Development which is under construction in the neighborhood’s southeast corner. This affordable housing project will bring over 40 units to the neighborhood and help reactivate a space that has been a vacant piece of land for years. Miracle Manor Neighborhood president Libby Eshbaugh shared the neighborhood’s excitement for the space to take on new life as many neighbors still hold cherished childhood memories of what the former mobile home park use to be.
 Libby Eshbaugh and Environmental Services’ Steven LaTurco with one of the bags filled with trash. These grain bags are donated from local breweries helping us reuse plastic before it heads to the landfill.
Beginning the clean-up at Sleepy Hollow allowed us to experience a piece of the neighborhood that is evolving to help serve the City’s current needs of affordable housing. It also emphasized that every project, whether it's something as large as developing housing or as simple as coming together to pick up litter, plays an important role in caring for and strengthening our communities.
 Council Member Kevin Dahl and his wife Bam Miller helping with the clean-up.
From Sleepy Hollow we broke off in two groups. I joined the group that covered 15th Ave from Grant to Jacinto. During my time picking up trash, I was able to get to know my fellow group members, some of whom are from the neighborhood and others from different parts of the City that just wanted to lend a hand. We were able to fill over 10 bags of trash and pull out dumped tables from the alleys to have them properly disposed of.
Participating in neighborhood cleanups is a great way to connect with fellow Tucsonans who share a commitment to keeping our city the vibrant and beautiful place we all know and love. The next Team Up To Clean Up in Ward 3 will be on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22nd at Francisco Elias Esquer Park (1415 N. 14th Ave) from 8am-10am. You can register to volunteer here.
 Study Session included a discussion on the submission of the Compensation Plan for City Employees for Fiscal Year 2026.
For the complete Study Session and Regular Agenda please click on the buttons below.
To watch the full coverage of the Mayor and Council meeting on April 8, 2025, please click on the button below.
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