Downtown Tacoma Survey: The City Wants Your Input
As a part of the task of expanding and attracting Downtown Tacoma business, the City and the University of Washington Tacoma are conducting a survey of your opinions on what our downtown needs to be a destination for residents, workers and visitors.
This is your chance to answer questions about what you value in your shopping, eating, transportation (and parking), and other experiences of downtown Tacoma. We know you all have things you love, and other things you love to hate about downtown Tacoma, so let them be heard.
Our favorite questions begins “If you were mayor for the day…”
Follow this link to take the survey.
9 comments
D Damon Spark October 31, 2011
Tacoma’s waterfront needs things to do. It needs recreational facilities such as sports courts, exercise equipment, playgrounds and even alternative amenities such as skateparks or bike tracks. Downtown is not just about shopping. It is a central location that people from all walks of lIfe can easily get to by public transportation and is a beautiful and lively area that should accommodate other activities.
M Mofo from the Hood October 31, 2011
The City is saying that it will use an anonymous survey for strategic planning?
V V November 1, 2011
If Tacoma could somehow attract the creative class, a lot of things that help make a great city would fall into place.
Unfortunately, right or wrong, Tacoma still has a pretty bad image. And although we all know Tacoma has the potential to be a truly great city, there are some serious issues that are in the way of that.
In no specific order, I-5 cutting right through the middle. Face it, 90% of the population only knows Tacoma from what they see out of their windshield driving down the interstate, and it ain’t a pretty sight.
Second, there are still a lot lowlife thugs in this town. Just drive down 15th Ave S at the MLK area. (and if anyone is offended by me saying lowlife thugs, I offer no apologies)
Third, the City had terrible leadership in the 1950s through you tell me when leadership changed. Decisions made in the 50’s and 60s left a nasty legacy for this town.
The Tacoma of today, compared to what I remember of it as a kid in the 80s has come a long way. But has a long ways to go.
Personally, I would like the City to attract a multitude of small and medium size skilled labor manufacturing. Metalworking, woodworking, ceramics, etc. Unfortunately, if you look at my second comment, in addition to their being a lot of thugs, there is a severe talent shortage for these types of industries to flourish.
We have the UW here now, and if they eventually start to offer more advanced degrees like PhD programs, things can change.
But it seems something is missing. However, the good thing is people are talking about it. And perhaps our collective conscious will figure out the solution.
J jimbo November 2, 2011
Too bad this survey is more of a wish list of restaurants and businesses that will never get here than one that critiques methods the downtown area is run.
Make the mayor, city manager, and city council live in downtown Tacoma. Then maybe they will finally make some decisions which benefit the area. I would like to see the results of their surveys and see how often they frequent the area for shopping/dining/happy hour
[ [email removed] November 2, 2011
the chamber of commerce got her wish. Walmart coming soon to central tacoma! Thanks you slime!
T talus November 2, 2011
@4: I believe that Mayor Strickland does live downtown.
J Jesse November 2, 2011
Downtown needs a mall,a large military housing project, and the death of the parking requirements and B&O tax.
Nobody wants to tackle the mall thing but the city has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to get “feet on the street” via museums, condos, etc. Just cut to the chase already and ask the owner of the Tacoma Mall what they want in exchange for building a mall downtown. Two malls bring in more rent than one even if there’s a long term and expensive investment involved — IE: moving and expanding the current mall further out into the suburbs.
K KaCe November 2, 2011
Uniqueness. Something other areas don’t have. It was too early, but the Old City Hall when it was shops was very fun to shop. Just ahead of its time. I love Portland’s remake of itself. Perhaps encouraging bicycle and kayak rentals. Sponsor a tall ship and have it dockside. Use the Sea Scouts and have them take out people to earn money for their troop. Get a bus like Art Redford had that could be used to take folks on a museum route… Perhaps from the Seymore Conservatory/Karpelis Manuscript Museum/ History Museum/ Glass Museum/ Car Museum… low fee and have the vehicle have a jump on jump off ticket. Go around every half hour to 45 minutes.
Build on the “most wired” city billing. Make an obvious wi-fi space near UWT and have technology students demo on a time schedule something interesting… hacking tips, etc.
We’re an aging society and boomers are now going to be retiring and traveling so target folks over 65 with some tech sites that they’d get something out of.
Our proxcemity to Mt. Rainier/Mt. Tahoma could be a draw with the train to the mountain. (Whatever happened with that?) We rode the Elbe steam train. Something like that could be a draw, as other towns have used the draw of historically restored public transportation… something that most people don’t get. Our ferry system gets a lot of interest, as it is unique. San Francisco has trolleys. Canadian Rocky Mountains Steam Train Experience. Etc.
With the military near by why not market to them? They don’t have a lot of disposable income, but they have good memories and if Tacoma is fun/clean/safe/affordable they’ll talk it up.
There are so many options that could be implimented; it would seem that asking for opinions is yet another delay tactic; while Tacoma “plans” other areas are implimenting. Why isn’t there a committee to do this sort of research? Why isn’t it on going and putting into place small things that could make a difference? Why do we keep starting over before we finish?
R RR Anderson November 3, 2011
give the north park plaza to the military. build a walmart on top… on top of the walmart build a NWDC where the prisoners will be the workers of the walmart. On top of the NWDC build an army Barracks. The military folks can guard the slave walmart employees and put down any slave revolts. they can spend their federal paychecks in the walmart. also the weekly volcano can open an office in the parkinggarage-walmart-detentioncenter-armybarracks to help everyone get drunk and fornicate.
the end.