December 4, 2014 · Exit133

Water Ditch Trail: Share Your Thoughts

The Water Ditch Trail is six miles of bike and pedestrian corridor connecting south Tacoma to downtown. ... or at this point almost connecting to downtown Tacoma. Phases 1 and 2 are complete, and the City is ready to start work on phases 3 and 4, but they're asking for a little guidance from the public on how to complete the trail.

Phase III of the trail extends along South Tacoma Way between South M Street and South Pine Street and is currently in design. The City is seeking funds for construction phase. There are four alternatives being considered for this phase.

Please take our online survey by December 5, 2014 and vote for your preferred alternate.

The Survey Monkey survey asks for input from the public on how you use the corridor, and which of the four alternatives you prefer. All four have cyclists and pedestrians directly paralleling vehicle traffic along South Tacoma Way. All four give pedestrians a raised sidewalk on each side of the street, but differ in how they handle cyclists.

Alternative 1 (shown above) adds a raised concrete path wide enough for both pedestrians and cyclists to the ~~north~~ south side of the street, giving cyclists a grade separation from vehicles. This added space is created with a retaining wall on that side of the street. Parking would be reduced, but the roadway would remain the same for traffic.

Alternative 2 adds bike lanes to either side of the street, without a grade separation. This option would remove the center turn lane to make room for the bike lanes.

Alternative 3 also adds bike lanes to both sides of South Tacoma Way, but removes one westbound lane, leaving the turn lane intact.

Alternative 4 again adds the two bike lanes, but removes the eastbound lane, leaving the turn lane and other lanes.

Once this phase is completed, Phase 4 will complete the connection along South Tacoma Way, between South M and South C streets. That phase is under design, with construction planned for next year as well.

Read more on the Water Ditch Trail on the City's project page, and previously from Exit133: Finishing the Historic Water Ditch Trail.

You've got one more day to take the survey - which of the alternatives looks best to you?

Filed under: Transportation, Walkable Tacoma, Biking, Neighborhoods, South Tacoma, City Projects, Water Ditch Trail

4 comments

Chris December 4, 2014

The trend in design of bikeways today is in buffered connections, preferably with grade separation. The sidewalks along South Tacoma Way nowadays are strewn with roadway debris. That would need to be factored into the design to prevent damage to bicycles and encourage a safer experience. Truck traffic on South Tacoma Way is likely to discourage new cyclists if we opt for generic bike lanes on either side of the roadway.
JDHasty December 4, 2014

Alternative 5 - Restore, preserve and maintain Tacoma's existing pavement infrastructure before spending so much as another single dime on any discretionary project.
ApitbullnamedPlug December 5, 2014

Alternative 1, please. Keep bikes away from traffic as much as possible. I ride daily. A separate graded bike path would be safer for all involved and would lead to greater use. I'd love to take my kids on a seperate trail, but wouldn't put them on the street next to speeding traffic.
Kat May 15, 2015

I agree with the previous commenter. I actually live along the trail, next to the elementary school. We have a huge tree in the middle of the road. One side is for parking and the other side is paved. Well, it should be paved, but it has pot holes big enough that I can lay in them perfectly. I've had to have several repairs done on my car and many people ride in the parking section. The gravel/parking is messed up so you even find people driving up on the sidewalk and grass. Anyone who parks there takes a chance of having their car damaged by the gravel or huge pot holes. Replacing windows due to gravel being kicked up by others passing by is no fun at all. The trail is beautiful, but everyone I've come across, bikers, walkers, parents from the school and residents all agree, "Who wants to park here or even come down this road?" Fix the road, no use of having a beautiful trail when the rest of the area looks like the city has forgotten it.