Andrew Austin writes for The Bus Stop as a volunteer blogger for The News Tribune. He will write about current transportation news and discuss transportation policy in the region. He will also highlight the sometimes insightful and often memorable experiences and observations gained while using public transportation. Lastly, he will talk about the benefits both theoretically and practically gained by making the choice to use transit.
Andrew, a Bellingham native, moved to Tacoma (without a car) to attend Pacific Lutheran University. This is where he first experienced the benefits of mass transit. A Religion and Global Studies double major, Andrew has run political campaigns and currently works for the state government. He lives in Downtown Tacoma, which he loves because he is able to take transit pretty much anywhere he needs to go.
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Streetcars, Sound Transit in 2008, and transit politics have been all over the blogs in the past few days.
First Tacoma Streetcar released a press release announcing the momentum building for its Sound Transit Streetcar plan.
Then the TNT editorial blog strongly condemned the Tacoma Streetcar plan. The main point of their argument was, if we build streetcars with Sound Transit money, we will never get the critical LINK to the airport.
Meanwhile Erik over at Tacoma Urbanist has been fiercely supporting the plan with posts here, here, and here.
Lastly, the whole issue made it into one of Seattle's largest transit blogs. Basically their point is they think Streetcars in Tacoma would be a good thing, but should they be paid with regional Sound Transit dollars?
My brief response to the controversy:
•It is logical that neighborhoods from across Tacoma are supporting this streetcar plan. Neighborhood oriented intra-city streetcars will do much more for Transit oriented development and creating a sense of place in our city than a light rail to Sea-Tac/Seattle would.
•The Streetcar plan is a pro-Pierce County policy. By giving choice riders more commute options into Downtown Tacoma and making our neighborhoods better places to live; it will spur development downtown and bring more jobs to Tacoma. Why should we believe that we have to ship 30% of our brain power and workers to Seattle forever?
•There has been confusion over the technology. Sound Transit could extend the existing LINK track using streetcar technology which runs at grade with cars. This would be cheaper and more appropriate than building light rail through the neighborhoods and allow the money to be stretched further, connecting more areas of the city. A light rail to Tacoma General does not connect neighborhoods or make the cut. Using the same amount of money, extending the LINK with streetcar at-grade technology, and taking it to Stadium, 6th Ave., and Portland Ave., would be a better deal.
•Is the Streetcar plan regional? Yes. It connects crucial residential areas to job centers in the second biggest city in Sound Transit’s district. It also will give thousands of more residents direct access to the Tacoma Dome Station: Amtrak, the Sounder (which may start running 30 times a day), express buses, and a direct route to the Airport.
•Lastly, the streetcar plan is a matter of dollars and sense practicality. There is no way any ST2 proposal will have enough money to get light-rail from Sea-Tac to the Dome. Tacoma residents will not vote for a plan that bring extends the Sea-Tac light rail to Federal Way or Fife. The Streetcar plan will connect Tacoma’s neighborhoods, spur transit oriented development, bolster downtown Tacoma, and give more people access to the good regional transit system already in place. It will do all of this for less money than a Sea-Tac light rail extension and garner more citizen support. Sounds like a good move to me.
COMMENTS:
Tacoma's North End Neighborhood Council as many of the neighborhood councils are well aware of the implications of the various streetcar issues.
The North End Council initially took a position of support around a year ago before I was on the council and then specifically in regards to including an intra city street car proposal into the next Sound Transit package. After much discussion, we modified our position to "must."
The fact is that Sound Transit has proposed and built intracity LINK extensions such as the Tacoma Link and proposed them in Seattle and Everett. Thus, it is completely appropriate to include it in the next package.
A Sound Transit package which fails to have intra city links in it does little more than to make a "green" way of commuting to and from Tacoma. An intracity street car system is part of investment which can enhance the city and make it a place employers and people wish to live in.
In the end, Tacoma residents need to have a sufficient meaningful reason to support a Sound Transit package if they are going to support it. Including a intracity street car or LINK connection gives such a reason.
Although the "blogs" have been discussing the issue alot lately, the Tacoma Neighborhoods have been reviewing the issue for the last two years and have come out in support of streetcars in Tacoma:
Central Neighborhood Council
Hilltop Action Coaltion
New Tacoma Neighborhood Council
North End Neighborhood Council
Tacoma Transit and Parking Committee
West End Neighborhood Council
If streetcars and lightrail form of mass transit is that much benefit to that many people withing the City of Tacoma; as a result, I think the City of Tacoma General Government should just design, construct, and operate all the new rail-type-systems within the City of Tacoma using the City of Tacoma General Government revenues for it operation and maintenance. Sounds like a winning idea and the City of Tacoma General Government could reap the economic benefits and profits from such mass transit rail type people moving systems.
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