Pima County voters approved an extension of a half-cent sales tax Tuesday to fund the RTA Next regional transportation plan, with Propositions 418 and 419 passing with roughly 61% and 59% of the vote, respectively.

Voters faced two separate but linked questions. Proposition 418 asked whether they wanted the 20-year, $2.67 billion transportation roadmap. Proposition 419 asked whether they were willing to keep paying the sales tax to fund it.

Both had to pass for any of it to happen, and on Tuesday, voters said yes to both by wide margins, with only a handful of ballots outstanding.

The vote gives the Regional Transportation Authority a mandate to remake roads, transit and infrastructure across the Tucson metropolitan area over the next 20 years.

"Tucsonans have voted to invest in ourselves at a time when it's especially crucial for us to do so," Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement. "These funds will bring tangible benefits to our City, from improved roads and bicycle and pedestrian safety to a new bus rapid transit system and major infrastructure upgrades like Mary Ann Cleveland Way."

She acknowledged the vote had divided the city.

"Many Tucsonans want the same things for our city regardless of how they voted this evening, and I look forward to working with them to make sure this initiative benefits all of us," Romero said.

South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela joined Romero in celebrating the victory, saying the vote secured $50 million for South Tucson.

"This win isn't just about roads — it's about protecting the transit and jobs our neighbors rely on," Valenzuela said. "Growth in Pima County must include investment in our historic square mile and all vulnerable communities."

The election capped months of debate over a plan that supporters said would modernize aging infrastructure and improve safety, while critics argued it shortchanged transit riders, sent city money to the suburbs and prioritized road widening over walkability and climate goals.

At the heart of the dispute was what the plan would and wouldn't pay for. Opponents, including members of the Living Streets Alliance, criticized RTA Next campaign advertising suggesting the funds would fix potholes, something the RTA does not have jurisdiction to do.

Supporters, including former state Sen. Steve Farley, who worked on the original 2006 RTA plan, countered that the funds would pay for deeper road reconstruction that eliminates potholes rather than patching them.

Critics also objected to roughly $400 million in city of Tucson funds flowing to suburban areas outside city limits. Farley argued the regional structure was fair, since city residents also shop outside Tucson and help generate the sales tax base in those areas.

Transit funding drew some of the sharpest criticism. The plan allocates $70 million toward bus rapid transit, enough, opponents noted, to only partially fund about five miles of BRT.

The environmental debate was similarly contested. RTA Executive Director Mike Ortega pointed to up to $55 million for environmental upgrades, including wildlife crossings and drainage improvements. But opponents argued the plan's road-widening projects would worsen air quality, increase urban heat and induce more driving rather than reduce it.

Safety was another flashpoint. Data presented at a January RTA board meeting showed 10 consecutive years of increases in car, bike and pedestrian accident fatalities in Pima County.

The Living Streets Alliance argued the original RTA plan bore responsibility for that trend, saying fatalities rose 243% over its lifespan. RTA officials said the new plan's investments in pedestrian crossings, bike infrastructure and adaptive traffic signals were designed to reverse that trajectory.

The current RTA plan, funded by a half-cent sales tax voters approved in 2006, expires in June. The new plan takes effect July 1, 2026.

Caitlin Schmidt is Editor and Publisher of Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at caitlin@tucsonspotlight.org.

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