A new project on the Southside aims to turn stormwater into shade along South 12th Avenue. The City of Tucson recently started work on its Storm to Shade project, which is designed to transform the roadway and surrounding neighborhoods.
For the next few months, all drivers and neighbors may see along South 12th Avenue is roadwork, but by mid-February, the area will be cooler, greener and shaded, just in time for the rodeo.
When it rains, stormwater usually runs off the streets and parking lots, but this project is designed to capture that water and put it to use. Xochitl Coronado-Vargas, public outreach coordinator for the City of Tucson’s Storm to Shade program, tells me it’s a concept known as green stormwater infrastructure or passive rainwater harvesting…