5th/6th Street Livability & Circulation Study
Relevant Plans & Guidelines
Neighborhood & Area Plans
In developing the Guiding Principles, it is important to take into consideration all the other documented efforts supported by the citizens. Neighborhood and area plans also express the goals and intent of residents in the area.
There are nineteen listed neighborhoods within the study area, plus the University of Arizona. All of these designated neighborhoods having planning policies addressed within either a Neighborhood or Area Plan. Adopted Neighborhood and Area Plans demonstrate the active involvement of neighborhood groups in defining the boundaries of their neighborhood. Within those boundaries, citizen-based planning efforts have discussed in some detail their intentional concepts how they would like to see the neighborhood developed.
Neighborhood policies largely define the residential and/or commercial character within the designated area. Characteristic elements include:
- Sense of boundary, enclosure or readability of the neighborhood as a neighborhood
- The style of residential development
- The proportion, sense of scale
- The pace of movement within the area
Of the nineteen neighborhoods, the majority define 5th/ 6th Street as an edge of their neighborhood. Four neighborhoods include 5th/ 6th Street corridor within their Neighborhood Plan (Sam Hughes, Miramonte, Peter Howell, and Swanway Park). The Iron Horse neighborhood does not directly front 6th Street. It is south of Tucson High School and Tucson High borders 6th Street along its northern border.
A policy overview of the Area and Neighborhood Plans identifies similar recommendations in all the plans. The similarities area summarized below. Policies underlined appear in only one Area or Neighborhood Plan without support from other policies or by contradicting another plan’s policy. Of the seven categories identified in Phase I, three relate directly to development of these Guiding Priciples:
Pedestrian Features
- Safe and efficient pedestrian access
- Utilize traffic calming
- Encourage pedestrian amenities
- Respect traditional pedestrian patterns
- Better regulation of pedestrian traffic
Streetscape/Urban Design/Landscape
- Multi-modal streetscape designs for 6th Street
- Protect and enhance vegetation and open space
- Low maintenance and drought tolerant landscape
- Canopy trees for shade
- Street-side resting ledges or benches
- Street furniture
- Streetscape should support historic character
- “Night sky” streetlights
- Upgrade appearance of washes crossing 5th/ 6th Street (Sewell/Hudlow Plan only)
- Underground utilities (University Area Plan only)
Traffic/Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety
- Provide safe and efficient circulation systems for all appropriate modes of transportation including pedestrian
- For safety, discourage bicycle use of existing 6th Street
- Pedestrian safety buffer from road
