Tacoma, WA: After years of working to ensure Tacoma’s Eastside and South End neighborhoods receive more equitable investment and recognition, Catherine Ushka will have a park named in honor of her efforts and achievements.
Metro Parks Tacoma Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 8 to rename the pocket park “Catherine Ushka’s Gas Station Park.” She joined the community today for a celebratory unveiling of a park sign bearing her name.
Ushka was the lynchpin that brought together the South End Neighborhood Council (SENCo), City of Tacoma and Metro Parks to secure funding for the park revitalization that was completed last year. She was also a community volunteer who helped transition the space from a toxic lot to the park it is now.
The once blighted lot stood as an eyesore for decades after a gas station was abandoned, leaving behind a piece of contaminated land in the heart of a neighborhood. Today, a quarter-acre park invites the community to gather in a tree-lined play space where children can ride a tricycle track or swing on a climbing dome.
“I was thrilled to advocate for this space when former SENCo chair Athena Brewer reached out and be one of many who worked to improve the quality of life in this neighborhood,” Ushka said. “Now, watching the kids play and hearing parents and neighbors talk about how the park makes their lives better – that’s award enough for me. That’s why I serve and serving this community that I love has been the greatest honor of my life. I am humbled and grateful for this tremendous honor.”
Ushka was quick to point out that community groups like SENCo and people like Fred Brookshier, a Gas Station Park neighbor who organized efforts to build and maintain the park in the early 2000s, helped make this dream become a reality.
In further recognition of Ushka’s fierce advocacy, Metro Parks earlier this month recognized her “service above self” by awarding her the Parks Champion award, granted to those who have made a significant contribution in creating healthy opportunities to play, learn and grow.
This was the second time Ushka was honored with a Parks Champion award. Her first was awarded in 2018 for her advocacy and dedication in developing the Eastside Community Center.
“Council member Ushka is a tireless leader who listens intently and responds to needs and priorities of those she serves,” said Park Board President Andrea Smith. “She is very deserving of this recognition, and we are thrilled we are able to honor her legacy at Catherine Ushka’s Gas Station Park.”
The park provides green space for neighbors living between Park and Pacific avenues, from South 43rd to South 52nd streets, which further closes the park access gap in Tacoma and moves us closer to the goal of every Tacoman living within a 10-minute walk to a park.
More than 65,000 people in Tacoma do not live within a 10-minute walk of a park, according to nonprofit Trust for Public Land.
Revitalizing Gas Station Park was just part of Ushka’s commitment to reducing disparities and making equitable investments throughout the city.
She has had a tangible impact on her district in other ways, including the creation of the award-winning McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan and implementation of its community-led recommendations; Vision Zero infrastructure investments to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries; and long-term planning efforts like Home in Tacoma and Picture Pac Avenue.
“Adding Catherine Ushka’s name to Gas Station Park not only honors and celebrates her impact on this city, but also her enduring commitment to our community,” said Mayor Victoria Woodards. “As the representative for District 4, she is a fiercely committed advocate for her constituents and in dedicating this space to her, we recognize her efforts and ensure that her legacy of service will inspire generations to come.”
Ushka has provided a lifetime of service to Tacoma and beyond.
She was elected to Tacoma City Council in 2017 and reelected in 2021 and held several leadership roles before that.
Ushka was in the U.S. Navy Reserves, Chair of the Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council of Tacoma and spent three of her eight years on the Tacoma Public Schools Board of Directors as president.
As a Tacoma School Board Director, Ushka was passionate and strategic. While on the Board, she and her colleagues were groundbreaking in establishing innovative practices, strategic plan benchmarks and improving graduation rates across the district.
Catherine Ushka’s Gas Station Park is located at 4801 S. Park and includes a children’s play structure, swings, climbing dome, tricycle track, two picnic tables and an open lawn with 14 trees.
“I’m very happy to see Catherine’s legacy cemented in our city,” said Tara Scheidt, an Eastside community leader. “The love she has for Tacoma is felt so deeply in every neighborhood and I am proud to have had the opportunity to watch her work magic and change our community in such a positive way.”
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