Imagine Tacoma – View Stimulus
One of the ways to increase the economic vitality of a downtown is to increase the traffic within it (stopping in for that cup of coffee in the city before heading off on the commute – or stopping in for the drink, etc… on the way home). So imagine restoring the historic axial view North up Pacific Avenue and visually connecting the Northend of Downtown to Commencement Bay.
No more Stadium Way off-ramp: After the wrecking ball work is done, the Northern visual terminus of Pacific Avenue is no longer blocked by a collection of concrete off-ramp spaghetti (i.e. it allows for Pacific Avenue’s ‘chi’ to be set free). Yes, this is a major inconvenience for those heading to/fro the Northend – but maybe using the Downtown exit/entrances will entice the vehicle occupants to become a pedestrian and frequent the downtown merchants on a regular basis (and thus more downtown merchants spring-up because of the increased foot traffic).
Dock Street Connection: With the elimination of the off-ramp, the connection of Schuster Parkway and I-705 can have a much greater clarity (i.e. reducing the NASCAR merging confrontations) and finally afford a proper ‘exit ramp’ to Dock Street and the Thea Foss Waterway.
With the increased traffic through Downtown, and the restoration of view at the Northern end of the City, maybe this is can be an economic stimulus through infrastructure deconstruction and historic view restoration(?).
Previous related Imagine Tacoma columns:
Filed under: Imagine Tacoma
18 comments
J Jesse March 11, 2009
Yes! Eliminate I-705 west of the new 21st street bridge and make those streets connect and turn into downtown streets. Connect the Foss Waterway there with new blocks of buildings where the freeway was and maybe have the perfect place to put a city mall with a view, enhanced (see “more people”)waterfront walk with restraunts, ect. It’d be “value added” for the Foss condos that already exist there. If I-705 were gone, you could more easily ave cable cars going up the hills in town too.
R Ron March 11, 2009
I’m not sure this is a good idea. Pacific Ave is already a nightmare to drive down. The drawing looks good, but fails to show the bumper to bumper traffic. I often use 705 to 21st street to get to my shop at 25th, so I can bypass what is easily a long start and stop commute. I do quite a bit of business in downtown and I use the main post office and my bank is on the corner of 11th and Pacific. Parking is poor, and if I wanted to get into downtown why would I park at the transit lot just to take light rail to 9th and Pacific? I’d get off at the UW to have a cup of coffee or a drink.
Sorry, but this is a well intentioned idea but a non-starter.
T Thorax O'Tool March 11, 2009
Like the view, hate what will happen.
You see, I am one of those illustrious Northenders, and I use the Stadium Wy ramp 2x daily to get to work in the Port. No ramp there has 2 effects on yours truly, and I’m not exactly unique in this regard.
You see, you have to present people with a reason to go downtown. I don’t work there, so I go downtown for pleasure and business (bank and post office). When I go to work at 5:30 AM, there is nothing open. Plus it’s butt-ass early. Why would I want to drive through downtown when I can barely make it to work on time as it is?
And on the way home, I’m tired. I spent 12 hrs (that’s right, we work 12 hr shifts) working hard, and I don’t want to get coffee or deal with the traffic at 6pm. I want to go home, as do most people getting off work. I tend to go downtown on my days off, not during the working week.
I’m all for redesigning the ramp for less visual impact, I just don’t want it torn out.
And on that note, let’s take a play from the Book of Seattle. Just build a tunnel from 21st to Stadium HS.
Why not have our own hole to throw money down? The Governor will go out of her way to make it happen!
C Carla A. Gramlich March 11, 2009
I also see some plus for bicycles/ped traffic. I would love that Stadium Way, had bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Here is a street that has some incredible views and is used for traffic to zoom up/down to access I705. Also, we lost some open space because the trails and park had to be blocked off. If it was accessible, I believe these spaces could be reopened and used.
J J. Cote March 11, 2009
Very good point, TOT. The reason that I-705 was built in the first place was so that commuters could bypass the downtown core and the stop and go traffic of Pac. Ave.
Want people to go downtown??? Give them a reason to. Shopping with accessible parking, prices that are competitive and not jacked up in order to cover the ridiculous rents, a safe FEELING environment, etc.
The only occasions in which I go Downtown are for one of my son’s SOTA events or to pick him up or drop him off.
There are some wonderful shops Downtown. I’m disabled and can’t walk up and down hills to get to them. Parking, disabled or otherwise, is limited. Give us reasons to go Downtown and we’ll go. Keep giving us reasons to avoid Downtown…
R RR Anderson March 11, 2009
Death to the off ramps!
M Morgan March 11, 2009
David, you rebel! Or was it revel?
I put the 705 in the top 5 of Tacoma’s Greatest Blunders.
You are certainly creating a lot of work for Tacoma. Keep it up!
C crenshaw sepulveda March 12, 2009
I thought the thinking around Tacoma was that water view should only be available to the wealthy. This allows the poor to see too much of the water for free. That can’t be good for the property values along the Esplanade.
F Frizzlebee March 12, 2009
If you took out the ramps at the end of Pacific Ave, wouldn’t you just have a view of the grain elevators and rail lines?
S Squid March 12, 2009
Morgan@7: Picking the Top Five of Tacoma’s Greatest Blunders would be more difficult than picking Top Chef. It could be its own reality show.
D David Boe March 12, 2009
Frizzlebee@9: No, the grain elevator is off to the left against the bank and screened with existing vegetation (a bit of the new canopy would be visible though). As for the train tracks, they are over 70 feet below the elevation of Pacific so they are out of view play; however, ships waiting in Commencment Bay would be visible.
Morgan@7: That is ‘Revel-ER’
M mothrapod March 12, 2009
I don’t get it is this really going to happen or is this someone’s daydream?
J J. Cote March 13, 2009
mothrapod@12: daydream, pipedream, nightmare, depends upon which side of the fence you ride.
Mr. Boe is an extremely talented man who has a vision of what Tacoma might have been, should have been or could have been. Others have different views, yet can’t express them nearly as well as he.
Personally, I think that every one of his ideas are wonderful and insightful. Unfortunately, most come about 120 years too late to make them happen. Like this one, they’re just not going to happen, but it’s fun to think: “what it?”.
D David Koch March 13, 2009
I agree that there will be many problems for a large number of people if we were to simply remove the off-ramps. I also think David’s ideas would benefit Tacoma a great deal. There’s definitely a way to have benefit all parties.
I like that Thorax is immediately coming up with more options. I don’t completely agree with his drawing, but he’s on the right track.
Perhaps also, we could find ways to streamline a path through Tacoma Ave or Yakama that prioritizes commuters coming through from Northern Tacoma trying to get to the Freeway. I personally think that direction would be best for the Downtown area because then we COULD remove the downtown on/off-ramps. How would that work? How can we make that area better? Someone want to come up with some street maps with proper, high-traffic avenues going from North Tacoma to 705 by way of TacomaAve/Yakama/other and 21st/15th/other (or something similar)?
Maybe something as simple as finally updating our stoplight timing system would alleviate much of the traffic flow problems.
R RR Anderson March 13, 2009
the best thing ever is David Boe + TO’T tug-a-war freestyle bebop.
That said, why more ramps? I would like to see more jumps in our highway system.
I would start driving again if I could jump my little merc tracer once in awhile.
T Thorax O'Tool March 13, 2009
“the best thing ever is David Boe + TO’T tug-a-war freestyle bebop.“
Imagine Tacoma if David Boe and I joined forces in some sort of Voltron-style Uber-Visionary Mecha.
We could have Utopia…
T Tora! Tora! Laura! March 14, 2009
Get rid of the ugly ass concrete monolith BanK of America building!
K KS March 17, 2009
One would think from the comments that only the transportation grid itself matters, and not the places underlying that grid.
That oh-so-convenient ramp that blocks the view also ensures that a large chunk of space cannot be accessed by humans; only cars can whiz through it.
Moving through Tacoma by car is very efficient. But where do we want to be when we get there?