$3 Million for Pacific Avenue
On the pending agenda for next week’s City Council meeting is an item accepting a $3 million grant administered by the Washington State Public Works Board to help fund Pacific Avenue streetscape improvements.
Image from early streetscape visioning. No dodo bird sculpture is actually planned. To our knowledge, at least…
The Pacific Avenue Streetscape project has been in the works for some time now, and would improve the right-of-way on Pac Ave from 7th to 17th Streets. Improvements will include innovative stormwater management design (i.e. rain gardens), complete streets concepts, multi-modal transportation, and wayfinding.
Other funding for the $7 million-ish project has come from a variety of federal and local sources, including a US Environmental Protection Agency grant for the stormwater management system, a US Federal Highway Administration grant, a US Department of Transportation grant, and City Surface Water and Real Estate Excise Tax funds. Council voted earlier this month to put funds towards the project from the Streets Special Revenue Fund and from the remaining 2009 and 2010 bond proceeds.
The project is a little behind its planned schedule, which expected completion by the end of 2012. This $3 million would complete the funding for the project and allows the project to be advertised for construction, so assuming the Council accepts the grant next Tuesday, we can expect to see the bid request process get underway soon. The new timeline would put completion out to the end of 2013.
More on the Pacific Avenue Streetscape project from the City project page
Filed under: City Projects, Pacific Avenue Streetscape
23 comments
J Jesse May 30, 2012
2013 is a big year!
Can they get the MLK LID and streetcar expansion done by the big 2015 Chambers Bay golf tourney? I’d call that a challenge goal.
R RR Anderson May 30, 2012
so lame. there is no Russell. expand the link!
F fredo May 30, 2012
Could be a tourist attraction. Tacoma…the city that INTENTIONALLY put ditches right in it’s main street.
J jamie May 30, 2012
I, for one, am in favor of a dodo bird sculpture. Kickstarter campaign, anyone?
R Ryan S. May 30, 2012
There is nothing wrong with Pacific. Why is it being fixed?
A Andrew Bacon May 30, 2012
The rain gardens will be awesome if done correctly.
R RR Anderson May 30, 2012
put the rain gardens on commerce! let’s try and fit as much as possible in there.
T talus May 30, 2012
Saying rain gardens are a bad idea because a couple of them in Ballard were designed poorly is like saying bridges are a bad idea because the first Narrows Bridge didn’t work out so well.
E Erik B. May 30, 2012
This section of Pacific Avenue is one of the last remaining areas places that the City of Tacoma has not destroyed.
The city destroyed rows of historical buildings and built two parking garages creating large dead zones. They constructed (recently) the ever dead Tollefson Plaza.
The city allowed the Wells Fargo Building to place a blank parking garage wall right next to the sidewalk killing off life in the area.
The result of the dozen or so “urban renewal” projects up and down Pacific Avenue is a nearly dead main street. Yet, the city can’t seem to stop and must go after the few last functional blocks.
Now, with a misguided effort to “green up” the area, they are dead set to try to fill up the streetscape and curb parking spaces with meaningless green buffers.
This is a similar action to when the city closed off a whole section of Broadway creating “Broadway Plaza” killing off the businesses in the area.
Pacific Avenue was just renovated a few years ago, the streets, curbs and sidewalks are in good condition, there is no need to shut the area down to try to win some green brownie points.
The rain garden/ditches have a place in a city in a neighborhood area or more remote area, not in the middle of a business district which has aspirations of one day being vibrant if it were allowed to be.
N N May 30, 2012
Some natural beauty downtown that is functional for protecting our Foss Waterway and the rest of the Puget Sound.
Seems to be a win/win for all involved.
R RR Anderson May 30, 2012
can we build bridges over the raingardens?
M Mofo from the Hood May 30, 2012
I liked Tacoma when it was possible to walk around downtown or one of the neighborhood business districts and enjoy the elements that distinguished the commercial zones from residential or rural zones.
What I mean is this: Some people really do enjoy plant-free and treeless business districts, for lots of reasons. Some people enjoy viewing buildings made of concrete, steel and glass; or any buildings—top to bottom, in plain sight. Some people enjoy viewing edifice, street, and business signs—in plain sight. Some people enjoy viewing a blocks-long frame of business district hustle and bustle—in plain sight. Some people just simply enjoy an escape to a “concrete jungle” to get away from allergy inducing plants.
Did you know that it’s impossible to sneeze without closing your eyes? As the City of Tacoma and its various taxpayer supported allies continues to “green” Tacoma with more allergy inducing projects, all of us start to sneeze more, and close our eyes more, which ultimately pleases governments more.
A AreteTacoma May 30, 2012
@11 These rain gardens are not designed to percolate, or detain water for long periods of time, they are designed to filter and treat the water before it is piped to the Foss Water way, so that quote doesn’t really apply. I think there are valid concerns about aesthetics and costs, but there is no comparison with failed infiltration rain gardens. These are completely different in their operation. I think the pedestrian and bike improvements are positive and the rain gardens are just there to win grant money. Could the money have been spent better elsewhere? Yes. Will this be the end of Downtown as we know it? No.
M Mofo from the Hood May 31, 2012
What do you get when you attempt to integrate a consumer based economy with bureaucracy, labor unions, and Zen Buddhism?
Pacific Avenue Streetscape Charade.
J Jim C May 31, 2012
Maybe if we’re lucky the City can get this project going quickly and both Stadium Way and Pac Ave can be shut down at the same time. Erik B @10 raises some great points, this section of Pac Ave has been basically the only real growth area in all of downtown, if the city repeats the experience of the Broadway LID “improvement” they will, without question, negatively affect area businesses and residents. Personally, I’m looking forward to September 2016, when they finally cut the ribbon on the “Crosswalks to Nowhere” on Stadium Way… I’m going to cross just for the experience ;)
F fredo June 1, 2012
How come the bicyclist in the illustration isn’t wearing a bicycle helmet? If people aren’t going to observe the Tacoma codes then why should we build them a fancy new streetscape?
T tacoma_1 June 2, 2012
He’s an illustrated cyclist, not a real cyclist, therefore there is no illustrated danger of an illustrated accident creating an illustrated brain injury, therefore no need for an illustrated helmet or an illustrated ticket from an illustrated cop for the illustrated infraction.
M Mofo from the Hood June 2, 2012
Even though the illustration of the cyclist is just someone’s idea, it still holds true that idea’s have consequences.
T tacoma_1 June 2, 2012
Then get the illustrator police to send the illustrator an illustrated ticket for breaking the illustrator’s cycling helmet law.
F fredo June 3, 2012
that’s funny.
I like how these conceptualizations which are drawn to try to help sell the idea under discussion always gloss over reality. Notice if you will, no power lines anywhere in the picture. So when the improvements go in all the power lines on Pacific Avenue are going to be removed?
T tacoma_1 June 3, 2012
Yes
And the sun will always shine in that part of Tacoma, even at night. The children will always be good. The flowering pear tree will always be in bloom. The deciduous shade trees will never lose their leaves, even in winter (since winter wasn’t drawn, it won’t occur). And the car drivers will always obey all traffic laws too. All because the great illustrator god drew it that way.
T That Girl June 3, 2012
Are there power lines now on that stretch of Pacific now? I know there are stop lights and the Link further down, but I don’t seem to remember power lines…
M Mofo from the Hood June 3, 2012
All power lines lead to the omnipotent puppeteer.