Imagine Greater Tucson
Phase I Data Gathering
| Tucson Association of Realtors - Table 1 | ||
| 2445 N. Tucson Blvd, Tucson | ||
| Date of Conversation: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM | ||
| Facilitator: Patrick Hartley Recorder: Bonny Bruce | ||
| Number of Tables: 1 Number of Participants: 7 | ||
| Theme 1. Education | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Quality education | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Too much money is spent on frivolous things | ||
| There is 7 support staff for every student | ||
| There is a huge amount of waste in education (time and money) | ||
| Sales tax for education was passed, but went into the general fund | ||
| 4 years without on-time payments from the state so the schools have to borrow money | ||
| TUSD is on of the worst school districts and should be split up | ||
| We need to educate our future workforce and political leaders | ||
| Large businesses looking to locate in a region look at the quality of education for the kids | ||
| Nutrition for kids needs to improve | ||
| There is no longer recess because schools can't afford to pay recess attendants | ||
| Physical education makes people learn better and be well-rounded | ||
| We need more arts in the schools (we do have one of the best H.S. jazz bands in the country) | ||
| It cuts down on crime | ||
| Education creates a better society | ||
| Maybe we can better harness the monsoon water | ||
| Cities need water features for a vital downtown and to attract people | ||
| When relocation people look at water, schools, parks, and employment | ||
| School districts are very important in choosing a home location | ||
| Theme 2. Water | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Water | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| There needs to be better cooperation between municipalities regarding water | ||
| Need water for everything | ||
| There is an importance for good water harvesting | ||
| Need it to survive | ||
| Theme 3. Political Leadership | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Better politicians | ||
| Vision and planning for the greater good | ||
| No more pet projects | ||
| Political leadership | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Keep it local | ||
| An example is building a baseball stadium in a bad location | ||
| Bad leadership is screwing up the good things | ||
| I want to stay in Tucson | ||
| Involvement with community groups that have influence to get laws passed | ||
| For the greater good | ||
| Growth with vision; realistic ends | ||
| Positive political leadership is needed for smart growth | ||
| Good leadership is essential | ||
| Get everyone on the same page - leaders and the community | ||
| To get new things started; have a plan, a middle, and an end product | ||
| Need leaders who can look at the big picture to maintain history and culture | ||
| Theme 4. Economic Development | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Business friendly | ||
| Better employment opportunities | ||
| More business | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Better parking around the UofA | ||
| Business that draws people to move here | ||
| Need better salaries | ||
| Many UofA students leave town due to lack of business | ||
| We need more business friendly political leaders | ||
| More employment opportunities | ||
| Bring more industry back | ||
| New money coming in; venture capital | ||
| Changes need be made to the land use code, to bring in more business | ||
| Should communicate more clearly where downtown parking is available; should be more parking downtown and on 4th Ave | ||
| Economic development gets tax revenue up; more people come to live here | ||
| We don't just want big box stores | ||
| Entice businesses with political or tax incentives | ||
| Businesses encouraging fitness for workers | ||
| Theme 5. Weather | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Weather | ||
| Climate | ||
| Climate | ||
| Climate | ||
| Weather | ||
| Healthy atmosphere (people, the skies/air, all of it) | ||
| Weather | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Most valuable resource | ||
| Better mental health - warm and friendly people | ||
| Enjoy the outdoors more - leads to more family activities | ||
| We get to spend more time outdoors | ||
| Helps the local economy | ||
| It brings tourism | ||
| It brings businesses | ||
| More healthy | ||
| The weather draws people here | ||
| More solar energy -more efficient, less expensive, self-sustaining | ||
| Theme 6. Uniqueness, the great outdoors, and fun and entertainment | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Architecture | ||
| Outdoor activities | ||
| Scenery | ||
| Mountains | ||
| Mountains | ||
| Mountains | ||
| Outdoor activities and scenery | ||
| Quality of life | ||
| Diversity | ||
| Culture | ||
| UA sporting events | ||
| UofA | ||
| Friendly people | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Musical outdoor gatherings | ||
| Bring back spring training baseball | ||
| More entertainment on the East side - restaurants, music, etc. | ||
| Live music venues for all ages | ||
| Emphasis on history | ||
| Continuing downtown growth | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Tell more people- website, Facebook, www.tucson.com, Tucson Bucketlist, etc. | ||
| We have everything Scottsdale has, but they have better leadership and transportation | ||
| Impression is that there is nothing to do | ||
| We're already big | ||
| We need smart growth with a vision | ||
| Everyone wants to be the last one here | ||
| The various chambers need to communicate | ||
| It's not overgrown here like in Phoenix | ||
| Big city with a small town mentality | ||
| Publicize these positives for tourism | ||
| Everyone agrees on these things | ||
| Our benefits | ||
| Publicize and advertise these as positives about Tucson - it's everyone's job to let people know | ||
| Theme 7. Transportation | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Freeway system | ||
| Better roads | ||
| More types of public transportation e.g. streetcar, light rail | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We need traffic light adjustments | ||
| Ease of getting around town | ||
| We should have better shade at bus stops | ||
| It's good for those kids that are not old enough to drive | ||
| Brings more people and traffic to local businesses | ||
| Public transportation cuts down on air pollution and helps the elderly get around | ||
| Build a freeway system above the washes | ||
| The bus system needs to go to outlying areas | ||
| More cabs | ||
| Transportation for downtown (the light rail will be done in 2013) | ||
| Theme 8. Public safety | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Too much crime | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We have some water pollution issues as well - we need to keep our ground water safe to drink | ||
| Air pollution is not safe - let's keep our air clean | ||
| Kids and elderly are concerned about safety | ||
| The safer you feel, the more you do | ||
| We want to be happy and comfortable in our community | ||
| It's bad publicity - some of the crime is real, some is exaggerated | ||
| It prevents people from moving here | ||
| There are multiple jurisdictions to deal with | ||
| There is a lack of emergency personnel | ||
Wednesday, February 23, 2011