Tucson NewsNet Daily Digest - A Service of the City of Tucson
CITY OF TUCSON CLOSES HOUSING WAITING LIST - The City of Tucson’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) department closed waitlists for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs on Thursday, Jan. 1. The announcement came as City officials continue to pursue every means of making housing affordable for Tucsonans while federal and state resources become less available. More than 40,000 Tucsonans are currently awaiting approval for support from the two programs, which are expected to continue enrolling people for several more years without new applicants. Mayor and Council also created the nonprofit El Pueblo Housing Development in 2023 to increase affordable housing supply across Tucson by bringing public and private partners together. Read the news release
ATTEND AN OPEN HOUSE FOR THE 22ND STREET BRIDGE BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS - Construction at the 22nd Street Bridge is expected to begin in February. Before work begins, the community is invited to attend an open house to learn more about the project, travel impacts, overall schedule, meet the project team, and ask questions. The open house will take place Wednesday, Jan. 14, from 5:30-7 p.m., at the Randolph Recreation Center Gym, 200 S. Alvernon Way. This project will replace the existing weight-restricted bridge at 22nd Street and increase number of travel lanes to three in each direction, between Kino Parkway and Tucson Boulevard, to allow for more travel capacity. In August 2022, the City of Tucson received $25 million in federal grant money to help pay for the project, with a focus on improving roads and important infrastructure. Since voter-approval in 2006, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plan has spent more than $1.4 billion on transportation projects to make travel safer, easier, and better for the community. 22nd Street Bridge Revitalization Project Department of Transportation and Mobility RTA
AARP NAMES TUCSON A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE (VIDEO) - AARP’s "Great Places to Live" is a list of 10 communities that have many of the qualities older people value: good health care, social opportunities, a nice climate, ease in getting around, a thriving job market, and a high ranking on AARP's Livability Index. Tucson made the list due to lower housing costs than Phoenix and warm weather. "Outdoorsy, laid-back and a bit quirky with its bicycle and pedestrian bridge in the shape of a rattlesnake, Tucson, Arizona, combines the culture of a university town and a 4,000-year-old settlement with the beauty of the desert Southwest," AARP said. "In a single day, you might visit a Spanish Colonial mission on Tohono O’odham land, dine at one of the country’s oldest Mexican restaurants, then have a nightcap at a stargazing bar." Read the article (AARP membership required) Watch the video about Tucson (free)
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO 'TREECYCLE' - If you still have your fresh-cut Christmas tree, Tucson's "TreeCycle" program is available to help you turn your tree into something greener after the holidays. You can take it off its stand and strip off all the lights, tinsel, and other decorations and drop off your bare tree at one of the many TreeCycle locations to help create compost to nourish our community's vegetation. The program continues through Monday, Jan. 19. You can find a list of drop-off sites by following the link below. The City of Tucson does not collect trees from curbs and alleys. TreeCycle
|