Member Center

Local News

Rio Verde Village annexation battle

Posted: Jul 7, 2012 5:27 PM
Updated: Jul 7, 2012 6:39 PM


Bookmark and Share
Rating:

4.0 (1 vote)

TUCSON-The Tucson city council could vote soon on whether or not to annex or re-zone land near River and Craycroft.

A developer wants to turn that area into a mixed-use development, but neighbors have some concerns about the plan.

Friends of River Road Communities said they're concerned about safety issues, and they said the city should just hold off and first see how this school affects traffic.

Rio Verde Village pad is a project that includes a hotel, commercial buildings and apartments in the general area.

At River Road and Craycroft, construction is already going strong on Basis school and Quiktrip.

A public hearing on the zoning changes is set for Tuesday.

If the city allows the annexation to go forward, soon Rio Verde Village will be developed.

"We are very concerned about the safety issues of the increase in traffic at a very highly congested area," said Lee Vliet from Friends of River Road Communities.

Basis Tucson North is a public charter school that will house around one thousand students.

It sits at the corner of River Road and Calle Rosario, a small road that leads to a dead end.

According to a traffic impact analysis, the projected traffic during the morning would be 975 trips and 642 in the evening.

"We really have a traffic nightmare," said Vliet.

Add in the Rio Verde Village pad, and this organization fears the traffic will be too much for River Road.

"This isn't an issue of growth or antigrowth. It's an issue of public safety and we feel that the safety concerns have not been addressed," she said.

The developer wasn't available for comment Saturday, but this is his response from our last interview with him:

"We wouldn't be developing, nor would the city or county or anyone else, if we were creating something that was not safe," said Joseph Cesare, the developer.

The issue is on the agenda for Tuesday's city council meeting.

Comments

KVOA.com is Social!

Most Popular

DON'T MISS THESE!

Thumbnail
FC TUCSON

Check out the latest events FC Tucson has scheduled.

Thumbnail
SEASON 4 HOPE

Help those in need this holiday season

Thumbnail
SUBMIT NEWS TIP

Click here to submit a news tip to us!

Thumbnail
NEWS 4 TUCSON ON FACEBOOK

Become a Facebook Fan!

Thumbnail
@KVOA ON TWITTER

Follow us!

Thumbnail
BECOME A MEMBER

Sign up on KVOA.com for newsletters, exclusive deals, and more!

Thumbnail
KVOA.COM LATEST CONTESTS

Win! Win! Win!

Thumbnail
KVOA MOBILE APPS

Get news, weather and more on your smartphone and tablet!

Thumbnail
TEXT ALERTS

Get texts for news, traffic, deals and more!

Thumbnail
KRISTI'S KIDS

Stories and videos with Kristi's Kids

Thumbnail
NEWS 4 TUCSON @ 4

What's happening on News 4 @ 4

Thumbnail
ADVERTISE WITH KVOA.COM

Let us help grow your business

Thumbnail
COMMUNITY CALENDAR

What's happening?

Thumbnail
KVOA PROGRAM SCHEDULE

What's on KVOA and when!

Thumbnail
CONTACT US

Contact info for our department heads

Thumbnail
FCC ONLINE PUBLIC FILE

FCC Public File of Records, Reports, and More

Thumbnail
MEET US!

KVOA's on air personalities!

Thumbnail
KVOA CAREERS

Work at News 4 Tucson

Thumbnail
RSS FEEDS

Complete feeds of all KVOA.com stories