GUEST COLUMN: RTA Next: Driving Southern Arizona Forward Together
By Ted Maxwell
President & CEO
Southern Arizona Leadership Council
On Aug. 25, with an 8–0 vote, the Regional Transportation Authority board approved the advancement of RTA Next, followed by unanimous approval by the Pima County Board of Supervisors resulting in the call for an election on Mar. 10, 2026, for consideration of our next 20-year regional transportation plan.
This milestone is both an ending and a beginning. It marks the conclusion of years of planning, compromise, public engagement, community feedback, and collaboration to get RTA Next onto the ballot. And it represents the first step of the next phase—asking voters across Southern Arizona to decide whether we will continue investing in a transportation system that has transformed our community over the last two decades.
The RTA is a Pima County political subdivision with a nine-member board that provides oversight and votes on a final plan to send to voters for approval. In 2006, Pima County voters approved a 20-year half-cent sales tax to fund projects that would reduce growing congestion, improve safety, increase regional mobility, and expand transportation choices to meet demand and provide infrastructure for anticipated growth. This tax sunsets on Jul. 1, 2026.
Enter RTA Next—the proposed plan for renewed investment in Southern Arizona’s transportation infrastructure for an additional 20 years.
RTA Next is the product of thousands of hours of discussion and input from elected leaders, technical experts, business voices, and everyday citizens, as well as the hard work and dedication of the RTA staff. The projects, elements, and policy decisions that are included in the plan are due to the advocacy and determination of each Mayor, each Tribal Chairman, and each member of the Board of Supervisors who have comprised the RTA Board throughout this process and ensured that we met the deadline for a March election.
I want to emphasize that this proposal is far bigger than any one person or organization. It is the People’s Plan—shaped initially by a citizen advisory committee, reviewed and improved by a technical management committee, refined by nine jurisdictions, and brought forward through consensus.
Why does this matter? Because transportation is not just about roads, buses, and intersections. It is about regionalism. In Southern Arizona, we cross municipal, county, and even sovereign nation boundaries every day. Our economy, our commutes, and our quality of life depend on connectivity. By pooling resources through the RTA, we multiply our ability to secure federal and state dollars, stretch local investment further, and complete projects that no single district could tackle alone. This is a plan that benefits Tucson and the whole region.
Since Southern Arizonans first approved the RTA in 2006, the results have been extraordinary. More than 1,000 projects have been completed across Pima County including I-10 interchanges that ease congestion and improve safety. Major corridors like Speedway and Tangerine have been improved to keep our economy moving, and everyday enhancements such as bus pullouts, crosswalks, HAWK signals, pedestrian paths, and bike lanes make travel safer for all. Transit services including the modern streetcar were expanded, wildlife and environmental linkages strengthened, and arterial roadways modernized.
These investments did not just move automobiles and buses more effectively, they created tens of thousands of jobs, generated billions in economic impact, and gave residents across the region safer and more efficient options to get from one place to another.
RTA Next builds on that legacy. The project list was vetted by the public through an open and inclusive process and designed for the greatest community benefit. It allocates 27% of revenue to further expand transit options, while also funding arterial road reconstruction, safety features, and paratransit services that protect senior citizens and vulnerable residents. The plan outlines more than 30 significant road projects and ensures completion of the original RTA projects. It is a balanced, forward-looking plan designed to meet the needs of a growing region while ensuring fiscal responsibility through conservative revenue projections and strong accountability measures.
With less than 200 days until Election Day, our work must shift to public education. SALC stands ready and willing to carry this effort forward through March 2026.
We invite you to join us in advocating, convening, uniting, and engaging our citizens and providing information and resources to help them understand what is at stake. We will work in partnership with the Next Now coalition, business and civic leaders, and residents across every jurisdiction to explain that without RTA Next, we risk losing 60% of the region’s transportation funding, leaving critical projects unfinished, significantly underfunding the transit system, and weakening our competitiveness for other types of funding to augment local investment.
Most importantly, we must collectively and clearly communicate why a ‘yes’ vote for RTA Next is critical to building a safer, stronger, and more connected Southern Arizona into the future.
