Save Pugnetti Park?
UPDATE: At yesterday’s City Council study session, City Manager Broadnax made it clear that the City will not be purchasing Pugnetti Park from WSDOT. WSDOT is in the process of having the property appraised, and expect to put it up for sale for between $500,000 and $600,000. That price, along with the approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in annual maintenance costs would be a bit steep for the City, particularly in light of current financial realities. Besides that, the City is in the process of getting out of the business of operating parks altogether, with plans to transfer its current park properties to Metro Parks. There has been no word from Metro Parks yet on whether it would consider purchasing the property.
***
The son of Pugnetti Park’s namesake says Tacoma’s soul may be in peril. To get saved, the City needs to ensure the preservation of the park that has served, most recently, as a location for the Occupy Tacoma crowd, and for much longer – about a quarter of a century – as a green space in the midst the concrete and cars of downtown.
A community that no longer values its parks and greenbelts and fails to recognize its history has lost its soul.
Jerry Pugnetti, son of Don Pugnetti (both former TNT editors), makes his case in an opinion piece in The News Tribune today. Pugnetti recounts his father’s history in the area, and work to get I-705 completed. And he talks about the value he sees in the park, and his hope that it will be preserved. According to Pugnetti, “The parcel that is now Pugnetti Park was designated as open space to meet the state’s obligation to set aside a portion of freeway property for greenbelt.” He contends, it is the DOT’s responsibility to uphold that obligation. He also argues that “This is the time for a city that cares about its image, community appearance and history to step up and save Pugnetti Park.”
Parks and other public assets are named for a number of reasons – to remember, honor, and thank people who have contributed to our society. In this context the elimination of Pugnetti Park seems like a slightly weightier decision than a decision about what to do with a small-ish piece of public land. The DOT sites safety/liability concerns in its decision to fence and sell the space, but that begs the question – exactly how many people have been hurt in the space in the last 25 years? It’s easy to see why some people are skeptical of that explanation; it does seem like the decision might be more punitive than preventative. Pugnetti calls it a “calloused overreaction.”
We’ve heard suggestions that the park be relocated elsewhere in downtown, which sounds nice, we like a centrally-located green space as much as the next guy, but that move would be problematic too. Aside from logistics and cost, it would separate the park from the accomplishment it is most meant to honor – I-705. The simplest, least disruptive solution would seem to be a return to the status quo – take down the fence, let the parking lot operator continue to maintain the grounds, and let citizens back into the space. Maybe anyone who enters the park could just sign a waiver, in case they fall victim to the grievous bodily harm WSDOT fears lurks in the open space.
Read more from The News Tribune.
Previously from Exit133: Park for Sale.
Filed under: pugnetti-park
14 comments
R RR Anderson March 20, 2012
honoring a bloody freeway?
how many lives has that freeway extinguished?
Make it into a parking lot and give it away to DaVita.
how cruel are the leaders of Tacoma, naming embarrassing urban disasters after real human beings. Tollefson, Frost Park. .
How about that hideous monster being erected across the sky of Nalley Valley? should we make a temple to Gregoire under it?
we are doomed. dooooooomed!
T tacoma1 March 20, 2012
That park is a dead end. U can’t walk thru it and because of its proximity to the highway, there is no reason to walk to it.
Sell it
Y YeahWhatever March 20, 2012
Honoring the proponent of a freeway? Honoring an editor of the anti-urban/anti-tax/anti-transit/pro-parking/pro-highway News Tribune? Give me a break.
The parcel is zoned Downtown Mixed Use – so put a building there.
J jesse March 20, 2012
Move the park up the hill a few blocks and name 705 after this guy. Put the new park on the block east of the apcc.
Anyone who knows anything about urban design knows this is a terrible place for a park.
T tacoma1 March 21, 2012
In a way it’s fitting that the freeway that Don Pugnetti inflicted upon Tacoma happens to be the very reason that no one will visit the park that carries his name.
Please WSDOT, sell this empty useless park to someone that will put a useful building on it.
A angiel March 21, 2012
It may not seem like an optimal place for a park, but the SOTA kids and UW kids and random people always appreciated its beauty. Most drivers did not notice it because they were looking at the highway, but those who rode by on the Link or the bus looked forward to the change of seasons reflected in the park. It was beautiful. Make it so again.
C Cat Jeter March 21, 2012
Loads of good arguments pro and con. However, let’s not gild the lily. Yes Pugnetti/Occupation Park is lovely at times during the day, but let’s all be clear, Occupy Tacoma spent over a week making it clear to both dealers and their patrons that business was closed during our occupation. The park past, present or future is not an Urban Oasis, merely a metaphor for our fair city, warts and all.
W Weyland Duir March 21, 2012
DOT was required to set aside greenbelt space as part of the I705 construction project. Simply stated, it was a mitigation project and DOT cannot sell it to anyone for another use. Why should the City purchase a park that DOT was required to develop as a condition of the spur construction?
We need to keep DOT on point for this. Letting it slide sets a very bad precedent for the future — not just DOT but any entity for any project mitigation.
C Catalyst March 21, 2012
I just want to point out that putting a fence up around an undesirable hang out spot for the homeless is what the city does instead of dealing with a problem. Notice the “construction fence” up around the court house? Yeah, that’s been there for over a year now and I have yet to see any construction. They just don’t like the image of homeless people hanging around “their stuff” – park included (I know the park isn’t city property, but it’s a minor point on the big issue here.)
I agree with Weyland. If they HAD to build it as a part of the I-705 deal, then they should keep it. No “taksies-backsies.”
T TacomaMike March 21, 2012
Normally, the federal funding that would have gone into a project like this, i.e. a freeway and a related park’s acquisition and development, would require that that use remain as-is “in perpetuity”. It could give the City the property with that deed restriction, for free. And news reports said the City had already previously negotiated free maintenance by the adjacent parking lot vendor. So, what’s the real issue?
T tacoma1 March 22, 2012
Your posting ignores the basic economic facts surrounding this issue. From the update at the top of this thread:
“WSDOT is in the process of having the property appraised, and expect to put it up for sale for between $500,000 and $600,000. That price, along with the approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in annual maintenance…..”
R RR Anderson March 22, 2012
sell sell sell!
T tacoma1 March 25, 2012
Show me the money? WSDOT isn’t giving it away for free.
That location would be perfect for a high rise retirement home. Virtually no parking needed, close to museums , Pantages, hospitals, and views for miles.
D donho March 25, 2012
For those of us who actually have used that park, we found the Occupiers to be a destructive force in the neighborhood. They left a big mess, their signs were a blight, they destroyed the grass, and they made lots of noise with their bullhorns. If it is going to remain a “public” park, in the future let’s just be sure it remains open to the tax-paying public, not a select few group of occupiers.