Tall Ships Excitement Builds
At least four co-workers that would normally have nothing to do with Tacoma are planning on skipping work to see the ships come in. Good luck to all the small businesses in the area.
Link: ‘An open house for 400,000’ – The News Tribune
Link: Tall Ships Tacoma Official Website
Filed under: Waterfront, Events
9 comments
C Christine February 21, 2013
Someone wrote to the fishwrapper today and brought up a good point. Stadium Way is being considered for a route to continue from Commerce up 6th Ave. Since Stadium Way is going to be dug up and closed to traffic for some time while it is repaired, wouldn’t it make sense to make a decision to use that route now or take it off consideration at this time so the construction costs could be saved?
What am I saying? It is the Tacoma way to complete a new street project with perfect black top and nice traffic flow only to tear it up to put in something that they knew had to go in from the start. How else can we get all of our unitended speed bumps and tire-popping pot holes?
Planning ahead like this would also disallow the other Tacoma tradition of digging up a street for 8 months (oops, now it’s 10 months…) and then digging it all out again 3 months later.
C Chris February 21, 2013
Comprehensive transportation planning is needed across the city. Without a blueprint of what neighborhoods we want to connect with transit, we are flying blind. We can’t apply for grants, we can’t substantiate need, we can’t even be sure it’s what the community wants. We should put the time and energy in up front and reap the rewards of matching grants in the future.
N nwcolorist February 21, 2013
My grandmother told me how she regularly would take the Pacific Avenue streetcar from McKinley Hill to downtown Tacoma. That was in 1910.
If they could run a streetcar on Pacific Ave then, we can do it today.
S Sid February 21, 2013
Pacific to 38th then Thompson Ave. ending at the mall is a perfect route. If you were to drive the route one can see how wide and ready for rail development this route is. It appears to be the least disruptive to businesses, crosses many nabes and leads to a shopping destination. This would provide a place for folks in downtown that have some time to burn, to head to the mall and do some shopping, or vice versa. , people that are at the mall can come downtown and eat lunch, or relax away form the mall for an hour. It is more expensive, but the rewards are greater. I do think the owners of the mall should be more proactive on this matter and maybe drop some cash on this project, as it would benefit them.
M Mofo from the Hood February 21, 2013
“Plenty of Reasons Not To Put a Streetcar Over Tacoma Avenue Bridge”—E133
Maybe so. But I’d like one good reason not to put a raingarden or six over the Tacoma Avenue Bridge.
J Jesse February 21, 2013
Don’t worry folks! This line would be like the 6th or 7th to be built. Do the math! At 17 years time between line openings, I would be 141 years old by then – and that bridge will need replacing again by then.
J Jesse February 21, 2013
Speaking of Stadium Way, why wasn’t that project considered the required matching funds for streetcar to Stadium and Tacoma Avenue? Its the only place the line can travel north. I guess we really wouldn’t want to rush anything as far as streetcar goes… I mean, gee wiz, 17 years can really fly by.
C Curt Carter February 21, 2013
A streetcar over the STW ravine at Delin? does anyone recall what happened there on 7/4/1900?
Just a little Tacoma history lesson.
C Chris February 22, 2013
Curt – I took History of Tacoma at UWT from Michael Sullivan. What happened is that the car was entirely overburdened on July 4th, 1900. It was so packed that there were people hanging on the outside of the car. It was a foggy morning and the conductor of the car was inexperienced. He proceeded down the hill too quickly and could not see where he was going. When he realized what was happening, he tried to slow down by reversing the polarity on the motors and ended up disconnecting the trolley from the wire – losing control of the trolley car as it went down the hill.
Modern technology prevents this from happening again with pantographs and catenary wire.