Can we talk about Tucson Mall and the Loop?

So the official Pima County Huckleberry Loop map includes this tantalizing tidbit about the Tucson Mall. If anyone has ridden this part of the loop, you know that the loop itself stops at Oracle and doesn’t exist along the Tucson Mall parking lot. Navigation becomes very difficult until the loop continues on near the Tohono Tadai Transit Center.

Why on Earth would the loop not connect directly to the Tucson Mall? It’s a mall. Why wouldn’t they encourage people to go to the mall via every transportation method possible?!?

It seems particularly odd that Pima County would put this statement on its official map.

I started asking questions and apparently, the Tucson Mall didn’t want to yield ANY of its precious empty parking lot so that citizens could use the loop safely along the south side of the river. They required every single stakeholder - literally every single business that rents space in the mall - to sign off on developing the loop through there. So now that the loop successfully and meaningfully encircles the entire city and then some, this missing link stands out as particularly curious. And problematic.

Because the loop does not go through the Tucson Mall area, the sheer amount of homelessness and drug abuse seen along the south side of the river there is incredible. Used needles, homeless camps and dangerous interactions are the norm next to Tucson Mall because there is no regular loop traffic along the south side of the river near there. TPD won’t even go back there because of how dangerous it is.

I find this to be mind boggling.

I would LOVE to ride to the Tucson Mall via the loop, lock my bike at a secure bike area, and shop and eat there. However, the Tucson Mall obviously doesn’t want my business. The Tucson Mall owners apparently want to encourage homeless camps and drug use along its part of the river.

What kind of anti-bicycle mindset do they have?! Why on Earth would they be so belligerent that they would get called out on an official map?!

I don’t know about you, but once I realized how idiotic the Tucson Mall has behaved about the loop, I am boycotting them. I have a car. If I want to visit a mall, I’ll simply drive to Park Place instead.

For shame, Tucson Mall. For shame!!

So the official Pima County Huckleberry Loop map includes this tantalizing tidbit about the Tucson Mall. If anyone has ridden this part of the loop, you know that the loop itself stops at Oracle and doesn’t exist along the Tucson Mall parking lot. Navigation becomes very difficult until the loop continues on near the Tohono Tadai Transit Center.

Why on Earth would the loop not connect directly to the Tucson Mall? It’s a mall. Why wouldn’t they encourage people to go to the mall via every transportation method possible?!?

It seems particularly odd that Pima County would put this statement on its official map.

I started asking questions and apparently, the Tucson Mall didn’t want to yield ANY of its precious empty parking lot so that citizens could use the loop safely along the south side of the river. They required every single stakeholder - literally every single business that rents space in the mall - to sign off on developing the loop through there. So now that the loop successfully and meaningfully encircles the entire city and then some, this missing link stands out as particularly curious. And problematic.

Because the loop does not go through the Tucson Mall area, the sheer amount of homelessness and drug abuse seen along the south side of the river there is incredible. Used needles, homeless camps and dangerous interactions are the norm next to Tucson Mall because there is no regular loop traffic along the south side of the river near there. TPD won’t even go back there because of how dangerous it is.

I find this to be mind boggling.

I would LOVE to ride to the Tucson Mall via the loop, lock my bike at a secure bike area, and shop and eat there. However, the Tucson Mall obviously doesn’t want my business. The Tucson Mall owners apparently want to encourage homeless camps and drug use along its part of the river.

What kind of anti-bicycle mindset do they have?! Why on Earth would they be so belligerent that they would get called out on an official map?!

I don’t know about you, but once I realized how idiotic the Tucson Mall has behaved about the loop, I am boycotting them. I have a car. If I want to visit a mall, I’ll simply drive to Park Place instead.

For shame, Tucson Mall. For shame!!