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University of Arizona students propose 4‑mile, 300‑tree corridor for Rio Rico; county to provide $150,000 match
Summary
A University of Arizona professor and senior landscape‑architecture students presented a master plan to plant roughly 300 drought‑tolerant trees along a 4‑mile stretch of West Frontage Road in Rio Rico to mitigate heat, stabilize soils and improve walkability; county staff committed $150,000 in‑kind for watering and maintenance.
Bo Yang, professor in the School of Advanced Architecture and Planning at the University of Arizona, and 12 landscape architecture students presented a student‑led plan to plant about 300 trees along a four‑mile stretch of West Frontage Road from Canyon Drive to the Garrett Shopping Plaza.
"We are planning to plant about 300 trees," Bo Yang said, describing goals to mitigate urban heat, control erosion, conserve water and beautify the corridor. Four student teams detailed site analysis, planting palettes and stormwater basins to capture runoff and nourish new plantings.
Team presentations identified heat islands, drainage constraints and priority planting zones. Team 1 proposed desert willow, velvet mesquite, palo verde and other drought‑tolerant species to provide shade and stabilize soils. Team 2 proposed 126 new trees and six stormwater basins in residential segments; Team 3 proposed roughly 100 trees and basins near a high‑use pedestrian path; Team 4 emphasized swales, water harvesting and ecological plantings.
County staff said the project is funded in part by an Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management grant and Arizona Board of Regents support, with the county providing matching funds to maintain the trees. "We're also putting some funding into it, a $150,000 in‑kind," county staff said, noting the county will water and prune the new trees as part of maintenance.
Supervisors and attendees praised the work as community‑driven and useful for heat mitigation and pedestrian safety. The presenters said design elements remain subject to further county and community input and that phased implementation could include additional amenities, art and lighting in later phases.
The board encouraged continued coordination between the university, the county and the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District and asked staff to follow up on funding and timetable details. The students said implementation is expected to begin in early spring 2026, pending final approvals and site work.
