By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Tucson city leaders said progress is being made to improve public transit safety.
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The message was shared during a roundtable discussion with Tucson’s mayor, police, and the Transportation Department on Monday, Aug. 24.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the discussion focused on transit, traffic and pedestrian safety.
“We all deserve safe spaces — in our parks and in our neighborhoods, and in our transit system,” Romero said.
Transit safety and security plan
City leaders provided updates to their transit safety and security plan, which allocates more than $2 million to law enforcement deployments, bus stop cleaning crews and contracted security guards, among other investments.
They also shared feedback from Safe City Connect Transit community town halls. Overall, the public’s top concerns were open-air drug use, a lack of law enforcement presence, and cleanliness.
The sessions identified top concerns across three topics. On enforcement and environmental design, participants raised concerns about open-air drug use and loitering. Participants said there’s a gap between warnings and enforcement and questioned the accuracy of official safety data. Participants said they want a stronger, more visible enforcement presence.
On driver protections, participants said they want new protections for drivers but want to ensure barriers don’t cut off drivers from riders. Participants also said they want more information about de-escalation training, and said operators’ response to reported incidents feels inconsistent.
Participants in the sessions were 42% bus drivers, 27% bus riders, and 31% other.
Sam Credio, Tucson’s director of transportation and mobility, said the feedback included concerns about the appearance of bus stops.
“I think that was one thing Mayor that we heard at the Safe City Connect meetings with the public: if a bus stop looks unclean, it’s perceived as unsafe,” Credio said.
Road safety investment
Credio said the city is investing $850 million to improve road safety. That includes projects such as Grant Road and Downtown Links, along with crosswalks and broken street light repairs.
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Credio said the goal is to reduce the number of pedestrian accidents in Tucson, which is consistently ranked as one of the deadliest cities for pedestrians in the U.S.
“The safety of our public is more than just at bus stops or at parks; it’s really the traveling public in general,” Credio said.
Police and transit ambassadors
Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said the department has increased traffic enforcement at historically busy intersections to help reduce pedestrian deaths. TPD is also stationing more officers at higher-trafficked bus stops.
Assistant City Manager Liz Morales said new transit ambassadors will offer help and resources when officers are not present.
“The goal of the transit ambassadors is to be a presence, and a welcoming resource to anyone,” Morales said.
On the transit ambassador program, Safe City Connect Transit session participants said they want clearer information about what the program does. Participants also said they want better use of tools already in place, such as information boards on buses that are often empty.
The city plans to hire six transit ambassadors soon, with plans to scale the program citywide if effective.
Romero said the city will continue to gather feedback and expects to deliver improvements to Tucson’s transit system in the coming weeks.
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