Submitted by Michelle S. Mood, Tacoma.
With NO full environmental or health impact assessment, the City of Tacoma has permitted a 2.5 million sq ft warehouse for South Tacoma that will generate something like 8-12,000 new vehicle trips a day going to SR16 and I-5 and points north — generating a lot more diesel exhaust, and paving over 125 acres of South Tacoma’s last green space (the old BNSF land between S. 36th and S. 56th). This will affect all of us! We can ask the city to conduct its own Health Impact Assessment!
If you care about traffic, or clean air, or sustainability in the midst of climate change, or environmental justice and eliminating systemic health inequities, please consider joining me and other residents in asking the City Council for more action on their part!
The city can conduct a Health Impact Assessment. More than 1000 new semi-trucks are expected every day on I-5 and SR 16. At the very least, 900 vehicles are expected to travel in and through South 56th intersection in two hours twice a day, past day care centers and elementary schools.
The location is in the part of our city that has the worst air, the shortest life expectancy, the most premature and low birth weight babies, so this will be hitting hard the most vulnerable and burdened among us. It’s the only single home residential area that borders industrial zoning in our city, a legacy of racist redlining from 100 years ago. The WA Department of Ecology, WA Department of Health, and our own Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department asked the city to conduct a Health Impact Assessment but the city has turned a deaf ear. You can help by signing here to ask for a Health Impact Assessment: bit.ly/tacomawarehousehealth
You can also join us residents at a rally and City Council Community Forum at the June 17 City Council Meeting. If your organization would be willing to speak at the rally, please let me know.
If you can’t make it in person, you can zoom in 5:00 pm Webinar Link: www.zoom.us/j/84834233126 Passcode: 349099
Join us!
Tuesday June 27, 4:30 pm rally and sign-making
5:00 pm Tacoma City Council Meeting
Stand witness, hold signs, give testimony at the END of the meeting (“Community Forum”)
Location:
747 Market Street, First Floor, Tacoma, WA 98402
5 pm meeting in Council Chambers, Tacoma Municipal Building,
Can’t make it in person?
Zoom in at 5:00 or later to the Webinar Link: www.zoom.us/j/84834233126 Passcode: 349099
Questions? Contact me!
More information also found at bit.ly/tacomawarehouse and bit.ly/tacomawarehousehealth
Sounds like someone in the city was bought and is convincing the city council to turn a blind eye. Follow the money.
That is a tremendous amount of vehicles added for this one project, that is fairly impressive. Every single one of those vehicles is going to be a working job.
Today just to get someone to actually work it will be a decent paying job I imagine.
That means a lot of people in our neighborhood spending money, that means they will be buying homes, then hiring roofers, siders, painters, electricians, all the tradesmen will be working because of this project.
It’s trickle down economics at its finest, and of course all these people driving these trucks and cars I assume will be hungry after all that driving, that’s good for the restaurant industry in our area, (which is struggling it seems), if you own a restaurant you KNOW this is fantastic news.
All this potential prosperity in pierce county. Landlords will have tenants who can pay the rent, car dealerships will sell cars to do all this driving, car salesman will prosper and spend money, everyone will be spending money, (isn’t that paramount to a successful economy?)
But wait,………what about “climate change “
Our great great great grandchildren might be living in one degree hotter climate. (Or not, no two scientists seem to be able to agree wether we contribute or not)
Our great great great grandchildren will likely have a set of problems that are nothing even related to the climate the way things are going.
More traffic? More jobs. A little bad air? It makes for a incredible sunset.
Lower your expectations Karen.