Students at the UA often may not see the connection between university life and Tucson city politics. But if there was ever a time when that connection was clear, it is now, with the issue of transportation in Tucson.

This summer the Arizona Board of Regents approved a long-range campus development plan for the UA that would include an increase in on-campus parking by 800 spaces. Those 800 spaces, however, will fall dramatically short of serving demand for on-campus parking, which is estimated at between 15,000 and 25,000 new drivers.

The solution, according to the Arizona Daily Star, is a UA plan that "recommends discouraging more cars from coming on campus and using off-campus park-and-ride lots and neighborhood shuttle programs" as the university continues to grow.

Right now, the University of Arizona and City of Tucson are at a critical juncture. The university's CatTran Shuttle, employee car pool and ride share programs, bus passes and bike paths provide good alternatives to parking on campus

Still, plans to build more parking structures in order to meet rising car commuter demand have neighborhood associations increasingly concerned about the impact of more parking structures and traffic on the area. Given these concerns, many in the community are encouraging Tucson to pursue long-term solutions such as light rail.

In the coming seven weeks ÷ up until Nov. 4 ÷ the UA community has the unprecedented opportunity to help ensure that Tucson and the university commit to a long-term solution to our transportation problem. Propositions 200 and 201 dedicate funding to a multi-modal comprehensive transportation plan that will improve the quality of life of Tucsonans. If voters approve the plan, current UA students, faculty and staff will benefit from extended (5 a.m. ö midnight) and more frequent SunTran and VanTran service, street repairs, maintenance and traffic enforcement and new bike paths and sidewalks.

In the future, the university community ÷ especially students who live on campus without cars, or who prefer not to drive ÷ would benefit from bus rapid transit service, from extension of the Old Pueblo Trolley downtown, and from a 13-mile light rail line that would conveniently connect the university to malls, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, cultural events and downtown Tucson.

Commuter students will be able to park their cars at any number of Park & Ride lots along the light rail and corridors or ride buses and bikes from home to link with light rail. The system will connect the UA to both Pima Community College campuses and the airport, and serve as a hub for the region.

The plan will be funded by a 0.3 percent city sales tax increase, amounting to 30 cents on a $100 purchase (approximately $29 year ÷ a tank of gas ÷ for the average Tucson family); a four-cent increase in the construction contracting sales tax that offsets an existing loophole: fare revenue and federal funding.

Multi-modal transit systems ÷ which offer a balanced and integrated choice of light rail, rapid bus transit, sidewalks, bike paths and well-maintained roads ÷ are now in place in many western cities, including Dallas, Denver, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and San Diego. One light rail line, which smoothly runs on in-ground tracks with over-head power lines, has the capacity to carry as many passengers as a 16-lane freeway. Statistics show that light rail ridership in cities such as Denver and Salt Lake City has exceeded expectations and that light rail successfully attracts former car commuters.

In Salt Lake City, the University of Utah provides a major component of the overall ridership of TRAX light rail ÷ students fill in the gaps between conventional rush hours, providing revenue-generating "off-peak" ridership.

In Tempe, light rail ÷ which was approved by Phoenix voters in 2001 ÷ has been recognized as critical to ASU's growth as a combined resident and commuter campus. Instead of building more costly parking garages, the system will provide transit links between the Tempe main campus and the branch campus in downtown Phoenix. In turn, ASU's inter-campus and commuter ridership will make critical contributions to the viability of light rail in its initial years.

Like the University of Utah and ASU, the UA's present and future quality of life depends on offering car commuters viable alternatives. Students, staff and faculty with residency status can register to vote in the city election through Monday, Oct. 6, with registration forms available at public libraries, post offices and city council offices. Early ballots (for convenient mail voting) can be requested by calling 520-884-8683, or going to http://www.cityoftucson.org/elections/ballot-request.html.

Dr. Mary Beth Callie is an adjunct instructor in the department of media arts specializing in media and public policy and infrastructure issues. She can be contacted at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.