The City of Tacoma’s Public Works Department is moving forward in the development of improvements along the Puyallup Avenue Corridor as part of a multi-year project to enhance safety and access and provide multimodal options. Preliminary visioning began in 2016 with public engagement, which has influenced the current proposed design.
The community is invited to review the proposed improvements at a public open house on Wednesday, May 29, from 5:30 PM to 7 PM at the Tacoma Dome, 2727 East D Street. Subject-matter experts will be available at the event to discuss topics such as community goals and policies, parking and traffic impacts, local and regional active transportation connections, landscaping, urban placemaking, art, and coordination with the planned Sound Transit Tacoma Dome Link Extension.
“We’re embarking on this corridor project with a clear vision – to create a welcoming path along Puyallup Avenue for everyone, whether you’re walking, biking, rolling, using transit, or driving,” said Mayor Victoria Woodards. “Whether you call Puyallup Avenue home, work there, or are just passing through to support local businesses or catch a bus, we want you Puyallup Avenue to be safer, more comfortable, and more accessible.”
Planned improvements on the Puyallup Avenue Corridor extend from South C Street to the City of Fife border and include sidewalks and curb ramps, enhanced crossings, bulb-outs to improve pedestrian safety and visibility, crosswalks, signals, lighting, landscaping, bus stops, upgraded utilities, and protected bike lanes. The project will also include reconstruction of the roadway from South C Street to Portland Avenue and a transit lane for buses from Pacific Avenue to Portland Avenue.
“I am thrilled to see the Puyallup Avenue Corridor work moving forward, bringing us one step closer to transforming this streetscape in service to residents, businesses, and guests visiting Tacoma. This work is a long time coming, and I look forward to finalizing the streetscape designs, and even more to the day when we celebrate completion of this critical project,” said Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh.
The estimated $41.5 million project is anticipated to go into construction as early as 2027. For more information about the project, visit cityoftacoma.org/capital-projects/Puyallup-Ave-Corridor.
As a business and property owner in that district since 1993, I have watched it go from revitalized back to ruin under the same leadership that is proposing this project.
We cleaned the place up and had it looking and functioning pretty good until city policy sided with a destructive element which has taken us back to sub-human status.
A drive down Puyallup Ave and especially one block south on 25th Street east toward Portland Ave will give you an experience that rivals some of the lowest $#itholes on the planet. Animals don’t even live like that.
Crime is out of control. There is open drug use and prostitution 24/7.
From a health standpoint, it is equivalent to an open sewer .
City leadership actually thinks people want to live and raise kids in a place like that.
City leadership actually believes people will ride a multi-billion dollar transportation system into a pit like that to do business.
Some of us in the Done District have spent many many hours in meetings, planning a vibrant transit oriented district, only to see it devolve into a despicable state.
Without standards that place productive citizens above this destructive behavior, you might as well sprinkle croutons on a cow pie, and call it good.