May 30, 2013 · Exit133

Mr Dahl Drive: Public Process For All Ages

We love good, robust public process, so we enjoyed reading through the public comment for the conversation around a proposal to change the name of a segment of North 13th Street to “Mr. Dahl Drive.”

The segment in question is a half block of the street that dead ends at Lowell Elementary School. The Mr. Dahl in question was a much-loved principle at the elementary school who passed away in March 2012. The fifth grade students at Lowell submitted the proposal to the City, and it has been making its way through the system. The May 22 Landmarks Preservation Commission packet includes a summary of public comment, along with the letters written for and against the name change.

In terms of sheer numbers, the supporters of Mr. Dahl Drive are clearly in the majority. Those opposed make a few points that are worth considering - largely to do with the time and expense involved in updating emergency response tools, including the databases and electronic and paper maps, to ensure prompt emergency response.

What’s really worth the look, however, and what we’ve been enjoying, is the involvement of the students of Lowell Elementary in the public process. A stack of letters and emails from the students of Lowell make arguments for (and a few against) the name change. The outcome of the renaming request will probably have very little impact on most Tacoma residents, but the involvement of the public process for these students is sure to be a great real world civics lesson.

See all the public comment letters in the LPC packet (pdf).

Filed under: Neighborhoods, City Government, North Tacoma, Tacoma Landmarks

1 comments

justaguynamedrob May 30, 2013

My three children attended Lowell, (the youngest is currently a 7th grader) and it was an absolutely terrific school. Bob Dahl was a wonderful human being, and I think this is the coolest thing that the kids are trying to do. To the person who has issues with emergency response, etc. There is only ONE address in this block of 13th St. in question, and that's the school itself. I find it hard to believe that the emergency responders that have to go to the school don't know how to get there and what they're doing. As it is, the only way for vehicles to actually enter the school grounds is either via N. 12th St. or I St. I've witnessed EMS called to the school before, and that's how they enter. This seems like such a no-brainer, let's just do it already.