PEDESTRIAN SAFETY EXPERT TO LEAD WALKING AUDIT
Dan Burden, executive director and co-founder of Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, is in Tucson to meet with staff from local jurisdictions and lead a walking audit near the University of Arizona.
The audit will occur in the Rincon Heights neighborhood and will begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. The walking audit will begin at the University of Arizona 6th Street Parking Garage kiosk (on the west end of the parking garage), and media is invited attend the event.
Burden has spent more than 35 years helping the world get “back on its feet” and his efforts have not only earned him the first-ever lifetime achievement awards issued by the New Partners for Smart Growth and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals but, in 2001, he was named by Time magazine as “one of the six most important civic innovators in the world.”
Burden will meet with City of Tucson officials on Friday to discuss the City’s efforts to improve pedestrian safety through a task force made up staff from the Transportation, Police, Fire and Parks and Recreation departments. The task force has developed a pedestrian safety strategy that focuses on prioritized pedestrian transportation improvements, education and enforcement of laws.
A walking audit reviews the walking conditions along specified streets and is conducted by a diverse group of community members. Participants experience firsthand the conditions that either support or create barriers to walking.
Considerations in the audit may include: street width, speed of traffic, block length, presence of good sidewalks, building location, motorist behavior and pedestrian behavior.
TUCSON WEEKLY ARTICLE
Please take a look at the article in this week's Tucson Weekly. It features Rincon Heights experience with PRO Neighborhoods as an introduction to the article describing the United Way's announcing that they would let this valuable community effort die on June 30th. Here's a link to the article (with a cool picture of Chris Wilke): http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/pro-or-con/Content?oid=3214424
RINCON HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALE NEEDS ITEMS!
REMINDER: Friday March 16th & Saturday March 17th, 2012
LOCATION: 1607 E. 10TH ST.
(Bernie and Gabe Croteau's House)
Clean out your garage, closets, or wherever you stash away all that stuff you don’t use anymore.
We will accept almost anything! In need of the following items plus more (in good condition if possible):
SHOES, PURSES, CLOTHING, BOOKS, TOYS, KITCHEN ITEMS, TRINKETS OF ALL KINDS, TOOLS, FURNITURE, HATS, VASES AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU DON'T WANT!!!!
Please contact Bernie at 792-9477. I am able to pick up items after 530pm on weekdays and after 100pm on Satuday. Sunday open all day!
All proceeds will go to maintaining the beauty of our neighborhood!
THANKS!!!!
Happy Year of the Dragon!
Come celebrate the Chinese New Year at one or more of the following cultural events:
Sunday, Jan 22nd (2 p.m):
2012 Arizona CNY Festival at Centennial Hall
Featuring performances by Shaolin Martial Arts Institute (China) Kungfu Masters, Chinese Acrobats, Chinese Dances and Songs by Local Groups, Chinese Traditional Music by Southern AZ Symphony Orchestra and Local Musicians
Saturday, Jan 28th (evening 6 p.m.?)
Tucson Chinese Culture Center’s “Year of Dragon” Fundraiser dinner at JW Marriott
Featuring: Entertainment, Casino Night, Fashion Show, delicious Food and Drink, and Silent Auction all to benefit the TCCC.
Saturday, Feb 4th (11 a.m. – 3 p.m.):
Tucson Chinese Cultural Center’s Taste of China Festival (A very family-friendly event)
Featuring: Many cultural performances, fun Kids Games & Crafts (including Climbing Wall), Chinese Arts & Crafts, and delicious Ethnic Food.
In addition to the celebrations above, look for the TCCC Lion Dance Team
(led by RHNA’s very own Veneklasen kiddos) at the following community events:
TUSD’s Pan Asian Lunar New Year celebration at Tucson High - Jan 20th, 10 a.m.
Main Library - Jan 21st, 11:15 a.m.
Vietnamese Association New Year (Tet Festival) at Mansfeld Middle School – 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Festival of Books at the U of A – March 10, 1 p.m.
FELD-DAVIS TAGGING
The nice painted wall at the Feld-Davis park finally got tagged. Does anyone know the protocol for getting this cleaned up? Please contact Joe Plassmann at joe.plassmann@gmail.com for any information on how to get this cleaned up. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Night Out Potluck Rescheduled
We hope with more comfortable weather, we'll more enjoy the evening and time with neighbors.
News December 1, 2012
Historic District Nomination Submitted!
In Spring 2007 and Spring 2008, a group of Rincon Heights neighbors worked with Professor Brooks Jeffery and his Historic Preservation classes at UA to inventory historic buildings in Rincon Heights and draft a National Register Historic District nomination for our neighborhood.
Demion Clinco of the Tucson Historic Foundation has completed the process and submitted our application to the State Historic Preservation Board.
What’s coming up: RHNA’s Historic District Nomination will go before the State Historic Preservation Board in March 2012. Look for news about getting a group of neighbors to travel to Phoenix for the hearing. We’ll start organizing this in February.
Community Garden Site Selected
A small group has been working all summer on developing ideas for the garden. The two sites originally offered by the UA were found to be either unavailable or not practical for vegetable gardening. A few days before Thanksgiving, the UA made an offer of a third site. This site is a good one from the standpoint of vegetable gardening – good size and receives needed sunlight. It has an existing building of not historical significance which will be removed to provide for a much bigger garden. UA will put up a chain link fence around the property with rolling gates, and they will grade the site. In January we will commence working with interns from the Community Gardening class offered by UA Geography department and hope to have the garden ready for the planting either by summer or fall of 2012.
See the aerial photo of the garden spot on Eighth, just west of Park, next to the greenhouses. The structure in the lot will be removed.
Potholes getting Filled
You may have noticed that a number of those potholes that can swallow a Volkswagen have been filled. We are not sure if the City responded to our requests or if some enterprising neighbor did the deed. The Ward VI Office, which had let the City’s Transportation Office know that we needed some action, is checking into whodunit. Once we find out, we’ll let you know.
Neighborhood Night Out
On Monday, December 12th neighbors will gather at the Plassmann’s Courtyard, 1750 East 10th, for potluck dinner, conversations around the campfire (we will have 3 fire pits), and, of course, marshmallows and hot chocolate. We’ll also have displays of neighborhood projects and lots of prizes donated by area merchants. Warm glow on cool evening. See the link for cool poster.