tucson looking at creating downtown community space

Tucson officials would like to transform a portion of a busy downtown corridor into a walkable and public meeting space.

What has been historically known as the Sunshine Mile on Broadway Boulevard has long been treasured for its one and two-story Modernist buildings built primarily in the late 1940s and 1950s.

But now as Tucson gets closer to beginning a widening project on Broadway, more thought has been given to the idea of adding outdoor seating, new lighting, and perhaps even a pocket park along the Sunshine Mile.

A report issued last year by Tucson’s Rio Nuevo District called A Placemaking Vision Plan for the Broadway Corridor said the goal of reconfiguring the block is to “take it into the future as a walkable, unique destination—a place that people will want to go to, not through.”

The city is planning several public meetings to gather input and ideas for what the community space component of the Sunshine Mile should look like.

Work on the community space project would probably not begin until 2021, after the road widening work has been completed.

By Garry Boulard

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