Transit Oriented Development for Tacoma
Transit has been a pretty hot topic lately, with the discussion around the extension of the Link raising questions of intent and possibility for public transportation systems in Tacoma. Should we build transit to serve already thriving communities of potential riders? Or should we use transit to drive development to the places we’d like to see it thrive?
Wherever transit goes next in Tacoma, another set of questions comes up regarding what we build around it. What can we build to spur economic and community development? What has worked elsewhere? What will work for Tacoma? A panel at UWT this week will address these and other questions about the potential of transit-oriented development.
Transit-oriented Development in Tacoma: A Panel Discussion
Tacoma, Wash. – On Friday, April 5, 2013, from noon to 1 p.m., Downtown On the Go and Transportation Choices Coalition are holding a forum to discuss transit-oriented development. This event, held at UW Tacoma, is free and open to the public.
Transit-oriented development is supposed to spur economic and community development and there are great examples of its success throughout the world. But what works for Tacoma? As Sound Transit works to expand our Link light rail system and Pierce Transit develops our local bus system in the most efficient way possible, Tacoma has the opportunity to create development opportunities with transit. How will we make it work?
Join the discussion with our panelists:
- Ben Bakkenta, Puget Sound Regional Council/Growing Transit Communities
- Chelsea Levy, Sound Transit
- David Boe, Tacoma City Council/Boe Architects
The panel will be moderated by Kathleen Cooper of the Tacoma News Tribune.
The forum is free to the public. RSVP on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/491338150922515/
So, what kind of questions do you have for the panel?
Filed under: Transportation, Developments, Events
14 comments
I Ian Gudger April 4, 2013
Is it possible to develop an effective transit system where it is almost as easy to ride transit as it is to drive somewhere? I visited Europe many years ago and it seemed like many people did not own a car or families only had one car. People used the transit system heavily. What is the difference between what Europe is doing and what we are doing? Is there something mixed in our culture that makes transit discussions doubly difficult?
R Rize April 4, 2013
Lots of people in N.Y.C. have no car or families only own 1…
E Earle April 4, 2013
I live in Federal Way and work in Tacoma. I can get to downtown Seattle in less than an hour via transit, but it takes me 2 hours each way to work in Tacoma. And the fault lies in the Pierce Co Transit system. That problem needs to be fixed before contemplating developments based on a transit system.
M Mofo from the Hood April 4, 2013
“Is there something mixed in our culture that makes transit discussions doubly difficult?”—Ian @ 1
Opportunity?
J John April 4, 2013
I think one of the major differences between Europe and the US is our refusal to walk anywhere. I’m pretty sure the Constitution and the Bible both mention our god-given right to cars and cheap gas. Couple that with our sprawl, and you end up with the the unfortunate necessity to travel by car (if no effective transit system is in place). Europe also has these things called ‘neighborhoods’, where there is usually a good butcher, bakery, produce shop, cheese and wine, etc. in the vicinity. A lot of folks tend to use mass transit to get to work and go out for entertainment, but the majority of their travel is locally, by foot or bus.
Much of Europe also has the added benefit of having had the foresight to have started these programs long ago. You can easily travel around Paris, London, or Madrid by subway and bus, and pretty much all of Europe is conected by train.
The solution is easy, but not necessarily painless. It’s time to get off our lazy, self-entitled and self-important asses, and build a system that works.
Will it be expensive? Very. Will it spur development? Probably. Will it end up helping us all in the long run? Absolutely.
M Mofo from the Hood April 4, 2013
“It’s time to get off our lazy, self-entitled and self-important asses, and build a system that works.”—John @ 5
I’m for voluntary cooperation and personal responsibility.
It’s a big world. How do all the lazy, self-entitled and self-important asses find their way to Tacoma and start forming coalitions to force people by law to agree with their tastes, values, and misinformed ideas about the role of government in a free society?
T tacoma_1 April 4, 2013
If you are looking for good transit service from Pierce Transit, which is funded by Pierce County residents.,,Federal Way, which is in King County is probably not the correct place to find it. Just saying.
J Jesse April 4, 2013
I’m planning on going. It should be interesting!
J jsisbest April 5, 2013
“Is there something mixed in our culture that makes transit discussions doubly difficult?”
Look at how sprawling our Puget Sound Region is, and the lack of dense urban housing. Then look at a European city. Transit only works when there’s enough users. Most of western Washington lacks the density to make transit a success.
J JJ April 5, 2013
Sprawl (suburban areas) is no problem or issue whatsoever on a bicycle,recumbent trike or Velomobile.It’s motor vehicle congested (dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians alike) roads that are the problem.
My opinion is that in 20 years or less the entire economy will go belly up due to financial unsustainability,a post peak oil world and national governments,states,counties and cities and will become defunct along with their plans and projects.A U.S. Dollar in the future will likely have as much value as a German Papiermark in 1923 worthless except for heat value (burning to keep warm or to cook food).It could be quite possible that the United States of America along with numerous other nations throughout the world will become non existent as a sovereign cohesive entity due to a non recoverable economic collapse
V valentine_s April 8, 2013
The bottom line is we are not Europe, and we will never be Europe. jsisbest is right, you can’t compare the Puget Sound region to megacities like Paris and NYC. We don’t, and never will, have the population density of the world’s major metropolises. Not to mention, assuming we all took geography at some point, that if you look at a map the US is roughly two and a half times the size of all of Europe (excluding Russia). Texas alone is larger than all of France. Their soloutions won’t work here just because they work there.
So, If you think the European model is so great by all means you as an American have every right to move there.
M Mofo from the Hood April 8, 2013
Just because we could expand our Link light rail system from Freighthouse Square, Tacoma to Times Square, NYC doesn’t mean that we should, or that most of us would even want to expand it.
I mean, yeah it would be cool to ride from Tacoma to New York City for free; but personally I think it would be an unfair burden on the next twenty generations of tax paying Americans.
M Mr Ed April 9, 2013
Tacoma is famous for launching studies on what we already know or have-in this case transit. Yep, we had it folks, you drive on extra wide roads every day where streetcars used to run. And they connect everywhere you already want to go: downtown, Proctor, 6th Ave, etc. Commercial buildings still exist at the streetcar stops, often converted to strange multifamily housing. All we have to do is string the cable and electricity, allocate buses that already exist but mark them differently, ie paint/graphics, and use the routes to go from one business district to another. In this way we make living in the city attractive and drive business within our borders, strengthening the biz district while enticing multi-unit development at the stops. It’s doable now. The fact that we have meetings and studies shows why it can’t be done-because Tacoma has an insecurity problem and needs to do something grand, like 30mil per mile light rail lines.
But what about Europe and other places where it’s easy to get around? Density. We don’t have it, we won’t anytime soon. I stay in Vancouver BC all the time and never use my car. I can get around by transit anywhere and there’s some important reasons why I can there and not here. Density. People in those places live on top of each other, houses are split into multifamily, huge backyards don’t exist. We are generations from tolerating that.
The second is taxes. They pay minimum taxes. We don’t. We use tax exemptions. Those tax funds pay for public services that they feel is an important government function but we feel is wasted excess akin to taking money from my wallet. Again, generations from change.
So in the meantime of generational change, get off your assets, Tacoma, and use what you already have, at a fraction of the Sound Transit costs. You’ll put yourself back on the map like #1 wired city did. You’ll make living in the city a non-snickering truth. People will live here. They will shop here. The idea of working downtown and hopping a bus ‘streetcar’ will take hold and the need to use the 705 spur will vanish. Your tax base will increase. But this time, do it and quit studying things to death.
J jsisbest April 16, 2013
Just going back and reading the comments on this one. Sheesh, this topic really brought the crazies out of the woodwork. I hope the panel discussion was much better.