May 20, 2013 · Exit133

Apply to Serve on Tacoma's Transportation Commission

Despite challenging budget situations for both the City of Tacoma and Pierce and Sound Transit systems, we’ve been hearing some exciting rumblings around transportation issues in Tacoma lately. Tacoma’s Transportation Benefit District will soon see money coming in from a car tab fee - and going back out to address some transportation needs. On April 30, the Council chose a preferred alternative to run a future Link expansion up from downtown to the Stadium District and then to MLK. At the May 7 council meeting, $500,000 was allocated to begin work on a comprehensive transportation plan, and on May 14, the City accepted $31 million in federal grants for transportation infrastructure improvements in Tacoma.

Also at the May 7 meeting, Council approved the formation of a new Transportation Commission to advise on transportation-related matters including, but not limited to short-term and long-range planning; compliance with local, regional, and federal regulations; bike, pedestrian, and mass transit-related planning initiatives; and parking and capital improvement plans.

That’s where you come in. The City is looking for 11 members for the brand new Transportation Commission: nine voting members appointed by the City Council, and two non-voting members appointed by the City Manager. Members will be Tacoma residents from each of Tacoma’s five Council Districts with a range of perspectives and expertise with a focus on the City’s long-term vision for mobility options. The make-up of the commission should represent a range of areas of interest, including the professional engineering sector, construction/private business sector, bike and pedestrian/mass transit sector, planning/urban growth sector, environmental/sustainability sector, general community, and ADA community.

Applications are due by Friday, June 21. Find out more and apply on the City website. With change in the air, and some sort of master transportation plan in the works, this could be an exciting time to see some of the behind the scenes sausage-making…

Filed under: Transportation, Get Involved, City Government, Link Expansion

2 comments

Chris K. May 20, 2013

The composition of this commission is incredibly important. Tacoma needs people who clearly understand the big picture of where we need to be, while recognizing the current state of our infrastructure. We need people who are capable of thinking long term about this complex and multifaceted subject. I've seen commissions that simply plant flags to represent constituencies without relation to data or transportation theory. That's dangerous. We can't afford myopic parochialism any longer. We are competing against Seattle and Portland for grants at the federal level. They're organized and we have to be as well. It is my hope that we can craft a plan that's multimodal, sustainable, and improves mobility and expands access to more residents and neighborhoods in rapid succession.
Fred Davie May 20, 2013

Council will be selecting the majority of the commission members. Unlikely they will be choosing anyone who advocates for a diminished involvement for the taxpayers. To be appointed, just regurgitate anything you've heard the council say on the topic of public transportation.