AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT RESULTING FROM THE TUCSON SUN LINK STREET CAR SYSTEM

Abstract

In May 2006, Pima County Voter’s approved a $2.1 billion dollar Regional Transportation Authority Plan. These, along with federal and other regional funds, was the funding source of the Sun Link Modern Streetcar. The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) co-managed the project with the Tucson City government.The grand opening was on July 25, 2014. The Sun Link lies at the heart of the urban center of Tucson. Currently sitting at 3.9 Miles of track, the Sun Link connects the University of Arizona community, the 4th Avenue community, and the downtown community. An essential criterion that must be considered when evaluating the overall community value of the Sun Link is its economic impact. A public-works project of this scale is likely to have a dynamic and influential effect on the city economy. With this as motivation, this project will attempt to inform a cost/benefit analysis of the impact of the Sun Link Streetcar System on the Tucson Urban Center Community. The remainder of the paper will be laid out as follows. Section I – Introduction 1.1 – History of Streetcars 1.2 – Conception and Development of Sun Link 1.3 – Similar Studies Section 2 – Methodology 2.1 – Review of Operating Revenue/Expense 2.2 – Survey of Rider’s 2.3 – Stakeholder Forum 2.4 – Effect on Property Values Section 3 – Discussion 3.1 – Cost vs. Benefit 3.2– Concluding Thoughts