Everyone in Tacoma Has a Link Opinion

Who can remember the last time this town had such a big debate about public transit? Pierce Transit has been dealing with devastating budget cuts for years now and I don't recall a two week period where activists and elected officials alike have been, at the same time, as riled up about transit as they've been these last two weeks over possible link extension plans.

The basic two week, 5-point plot has been this:

1. Sound Transit announces that based on their research they'd like to receive community input about three potential Link extension routs what would connect the current downtown link to the Hilltop, Sixth Avenue or the Eastside.
2. Debates erupt all over town (actually mostly on Facebook, but also on exit133) about which plan is "best for Tacoma." (In quotations because nine out of 10 activists and electeds have just been advocating for the plan closest to where they live).
3. Tacoma City Councilmember David Boe introduces his own "hybrid plan" that attempts to reach all three of the communities targeted by the three proposed plans. (The Trib ed-board summed up the pros and cons of Boe's proposal nicely in this editorial)
4. Local transit advocates criticize Boe's proposal for being far too expensive and for its potential to delay the extensions approval.
5. The city of Tacoma formally asks Sound Transit to consider Boe's proposal (at which point I'd like to imagine Boe ripped the sketch out of his pad and handed it over to Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl).

While we hold our collective breath to see how long it takes Sound Transit to analyze Boe's recommendation be sure to let Sound Transit know which proposal (of the first three) you prefer.

School Board Moves Forward on Charter Schools (1240 stances, apparently, are water under the bridge)

The other major item of the week was the Tacoma School Board's 4-1 decision Thursday night to move forward in the process of becoming an authorizer of charter schools. This is not unexpected, and a number of board directors explained to the Tribune that they are moving forward with the process while they learn more about it.

This progression still seems (to this blogger) to be a bit strange and a bit quick for a body that formally opposed the charter school bill and for multiple board directors who publically campaigned against it just a few short months ago.

(Then again, I picked up a fifth at Stadium Thriftway tonight even though I voted (hell) no on I-1183 two years ago. ...)

A No-Brainer Motion Turns Into a Pierce County Council Debate

It's common knowledge that most folks, especially in largely working class Pierce County, are at work at 3 p.m. It would follow then that a helluva lot more folks would be able to attend Pirce County Council meetings if they started at 5 p.m. instead of the current 3 p.m. This is precisely the reason Councilmember Connie Ladenburg made a motion for just that. However not all of her colleagues are open to the idea that their meeting time should cater to the schedules of the vast majority of their constituents. This is should really be a no-brainer. It's baffling why multiple county councilmembers would question it. (Expect a full blog from me about this feet-dragging next week).

Some Exciting New Developments! (literal developments, not just news jargon)

We talk a lot in Tacoma about emulating thriving urban communities in how we (and our region) develop public transit, k-12 and higher education and density. Besides our vibrant higher education system we've been pretty slow to evolve on the other categories.  Which is why it's very exciting that in the last week plans for two new mixed-use, high density developments were announced.

First, a potential mixed-used development in the Proctor Business District. I'm happy to see a progressive development being proposed in an established area. Creating space for new developments often brings the displacement of residents and/or businesses and this has already been the case in Proctor. Hopefully after the smoke clears and change-fearing Proctorites calm down, this development will move forward.

Second, a mixed-used development planned for Foss Waterway. The proposal includes a ton of storefront space and a restaurant facility on the roof (I can dig it!). From the looks of it this project has more green lights currently than the Proctor project.

These are the sorts of developments that should be popping up all over Tacoma, especially when they don't come (as is often the case) in neighborhoods that are being gentrified. Now all we have to do is find good jobs for all the new people that will be, in theory, moving into these apartments. ...

---Until next time, enjoy the decent weather and weekend's college hoops.