Ward 6 Candidate: Leighton H. Rockafellow, Jr.
Leighton is a Tucson native, father, lawyer, and Democrat who sits on the board of his neighborhood association, volunteers for Step up to Justice, and loves all things Tucson.
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Studies estimate that around 40% of those pedestrians killed in our streets are unhoused. We need to treat homelessness in Tucson like the crisis and violation of civil rights that it is. Finding temporary and permanent safe and secure spaces for our homeless residents to live will go a long way toward decreasing deaths in our streets. Beyond that, as a personal injury attorney, I see first hand how deadly and dangerous our streets are. To make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists we need lower speed limits, segregated bike lanes, better lighting, more sidewalks, and a more robust system of bike boulevards that connects every downtown and midtown neighborhood without needing to use corridors. The city should also continue supporting advocacy groups such as LSA who do incredible work promoting safe riding habits, distributing helmets and lights to cyclists, and promoting car-free events like Cyclovia.
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Bus fares should be free or deeply discounted for anyone 18 and under, for anyone on AHCCCS or Medicare, and for other low-income riders.
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Tucson needs a Regional Transportation plan that includes robust funding for transit in Tucson so that we can continue expanding routes and services.
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No
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The current RTA failed to deliver a dozen projects in Tucson. But I do not think we should reject any future plans due to these failures. Transportation projects should be funded by regional taxes as the entire region uses the roads, regardless of their home address. The current RTA next proposal should be modified to include more transit-oriented and non-vehicle related infrastructure projects for Tucson before being submitted to voters. I am encouraged by recent events within the board and hope they can present voters with a plan better suited to what voters are looking for.
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By bike if possible. Any day I get to ride my bike is a good day.