Tucson Development News

[nobleman]

I joined SkyscraperCity earlier and I completely forgot about it until yesterday. So, I thought it'd be cool to open up this thread and shed some optimistic light on Tucson.

In case any of you are interested in some facts on Tucson, I highly recommend visiting the Wikipedia article on Tucson.

Finally, to kick start this thread, here's an awesome picture of Tucson.



Updated: Tuesday, July 4th, 2006

EXPANSION OF RIVER ROAD

[urban_phx]

Originally Posted by nobleman

I joined SkyscraperCity earlier and I completely forgot about it until yesterday. So, I thought it'd be cool to open up this thread and shed some optimistic light on Tucson.

In case any of you are interested in some facts on Tucson, I highly recommend visiting the Wikipedia article on Tucson.

Finally, to kick start this thread, here's an awesome picture of Tucson.



Updated: Monday, June 26th, 2006

doesn't look likes there's a whole lot of development going on there I don't see any cranes in the picture

[SDfan]

So what are some of the projects in the city, if any? It looks great by the way.

[nobleman]

Originally Posted by urban_phx

doesn't look likes there's a whole lot of development going on there I don't see any cranes in the picture

At the moment, there isn't a lot of work going on in downtown. Although, the city leaders are planning on completely changing the downtown area, creating more condos and other sorts of residential spaces, and better public transportation.

Naturally, businesses are going to be attracted to the area since many new condos and stuff are going to be built, so new shops and stuff like that. I trust the city planning, and that they'll make it look great.

[nobleman]

Originally Posted by SDfan

So what are some of the projects in the city, if any? It looks great by the way.

Like I said in the earlier post, the city is still growing rapidly, so there's a lot of work going on in infrastructure. Many roads are being repaved or being made wider.

Other than that, most projects are shopping malls and offices, and the rest are residentials. Most residential work is going on in the suburbs, and the rest (such as modernizing infrastructure, offices and shopping malls) is going on in the city itself.

[scandinavian girl]

Hi I am curious were about is Tucson? I used to live in WA for some time and do not know about Tucson.

[nobleman]

Originally Posted by scandinavian girl

Hi I am curious were about is Tucson? I used to live in WA for some time and do not know about Tucson.

Tucson is in Pima County, which is located in Southern Arizona. Since you lived in WA, I'm sure you know where Arizona is.

[AZian]

Tucson has a LONG way to go in its "modernization" of its infrastructure. Unforunately, that does not involve any freeways in the near future. Tucson shot itself in the foot by not passing many transportation initiatives that would have provided much needed traffic relief. Rather, it passed, claiming it wanted to "preserve" its "small town feel." I would like to see what Tucson can do with itself.

Dont get me wrong, i really like that city. It has a great historic downtown area, and it is the only southern arizona region to have a democratic congressman!! Tucson also gets the best lightning storms anywhere i've seen!

[I-275westcoastfl]

Originally Posted by AZian

Tucson also gets the best lightning storms anywhere i've seen!

You havent been to Pinellas County, Florida then

[nobleman]

Originally Posted by AZian

Tucson has a LONG way to go in its "modernization" of its infrastructure. Unforunately, that does not involve any freeways in the near future. Tucson shot itself in the foot by not passing many transportation initiatives that would have provided much needed traffic relief. Rather, it passed, claiming it wanted to "preserve" its "small town feel." I would like to see what Tucson can do with itself.

Dont get me wrong, i really like that city. It has a great historic downtown area, and it is the only southern arizona region to have a democratic congressman!! Tucson also gets the best lightning storms anywhere i've seen!

Although I agree with you to an extent, I think the modernization of road infrastructure is doing a great job. There are a lot of major streets all over the city being widened. There was a vote on if a major freeway would be built contecting the East and West parts of the city, and it was passed.

Most people voted "Yes" on the bill, except for some residents that lived near the current road. If the bill is passed, which is was, then all those homes are going to be destroyed so the road can be expanded drastically.

Most people think it's unfair for those homes to be destroyed, but I think of it as a good thing. In a city that's growing as rapidly as Tucson, it's impossible for everyone to be satisfied with what's going to be built. Most of the homes that are going to be destroyed because of this freeway are the first strages of sprawl in the city, which are a lot "poorer" looking than the rest of the city. This demolishion and construction is going to make it a lot easier to get around the place.

[nobleman]

Like I promised, here are a couple pictures of River road. Since Tucson is built on a grid system, the thing that's unique about River road is that it's the only curvey road in Tucson.

Enjoy.

Although this isn't all of River road, here's a map indicating (in red color) the location these pictures are taken from.



And here are photos of the actual project.
Note: The street is being expanded on both sides from the initial 2 lane street, to a 6ish lane street (I think).



Approaching an intersection made so the traffic can go slightly faster



And finally we turned off River road, and into Swan

[nobleman]

Thanks to whoever made this thread a sticky.

[jmancuso]

tucson is a great town. been there twice (spent a week there in 1993 and another week in 2003) and is easily one of my favorite american cities.



btw, i stickied thsi thread.

[nobleman]

Originally Posted by jmancuso

tucson is a great town. been there twice (spent a week there in 1993 and another week in 2003) and is easily one of my favorite american cities.



btw, i stickied thsi thread.

Thanks for the nice comments. I hope you give us another visit, and you'll see how the city is growing even more. Or even better, you should take a tour with some sort of tourist company that'll take you around the entire city showing you some cool places. I might do the same myself, so I can learn a bit mroe about the city (such as the historical importance of the downtown, etc.)

[jmancuso]

yeah, i'd like to see tucson again. it's probably the only city out west i could see myself living in. i loved how the city retains its natural surroundings as opposed to phoenix which plants lawns and paves over the desert.

speaking of river road, that's where i stayed; few blocks east of oracle. my view:

[nobleman]

Yeah, you're right about Tucson trying to keep the its natural look.

Here are some news concerning all of Arizona, not just Tucson. But heck, I thought they were important enough to post.

Index shows Arizona's economic growth slowed in June

TUCSON, Ariz. The monthly Arizona Business Conditions index from A-S-U shows slowing growth in the state's economy.
The index dipped nearly 9 percent in June, with a cooling housing market and higher inventories the driving factors. Higher energy prices also weighed on growth.

Economist Dawn McLaren at ASU's W-P Carey School of Business says the index is still showing positive growth. Any number above 50 indicates a growing economy, but it has dipped from a high of 69 in December to last month's 53.

The index tracks seven economic indicators and has correctly predicted every recession since it was started in 1962.

Great news if you ask me. Especially since a lot of the state is still not a modernized as the central/southern parts.

[nobleman]

"A" Mountain, the far East side of Tucson, and Oro Valley all celebrated the 4th of July with setting a bunch of fireworks off. Since my camera is terrible at doing night shots, and the zoom isn't good enough to capture the fireworks going on "A" Mountain, I had to resort taking a couple of shots at the far East side.

Here's what I could get (sorry, I'm well-aware the pictures are crap).





Sorry for the poor quality, once again. It was raining (and it has been doing that for the last 3 or 4 days) and like I said, my camera sucks.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

[FLscraper]

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

You havent been to Pinellas County, Florida then

I've lived in both Tampa and Tucson and believe me when I say Pinellas Countys lightning isn't even close to Tucsons.

[nobleman]

I post pictures of construction and stuff, and all you guys talk about is lightening.

Ahhh, what the heck...here's a picture of some lightening.



For more pictures, click here .

[nobleman]

I Googled "Tucson cosntruction projects" and found a nice site that did some projects in Tucson, AZ.

Here's the link if anyone's interested .