Keeping in Step...

Today we're posting a few brief notes that have been accruing and may be of interest:

For all the current interest over the Miller Amendment, most community members have never seen the resolution. Reading the actual document may help some readers of this blog to better evaluate the many (and varied) opinions expressed about what the legislation is and does. Also of interest may be the recognition that the resolution was submitted on behalf of Councilmember Mike Crowley (formerly head of the BIA and now Executive Vice President for the Master Builders Association of Pierce County), it continues to be memorialized with the name of Councilmember Paul Miller, a downtown building owner who was therefore recused from voting on this issue.

Several weeks ago, we identified Fireman's Park as one of downtown Tacoma's great public spaces. In order to encourage "more feet on the street" there, the BIA has been working with the Tacoma Police Department and other partners to address ongoing security problems in the park. Transients have been able to scramble up into the park from SR-705--and scramble back down after committing petty crimes--but TPD Community Liaison Officer Rob Luke has very recently cobbled together funding to have that route blocked by a high fence. Kudos to Officer Luke!

Among downtown issues, parking is certainly the Rubik's Cube--an incredibly complex system that requires constant input from a kaleidoscopic variety of parties to reach a solution. The Chamber's Parking Advisory Committee has been working hard with City of Tacoma staff to move the pieces of the puzzle to a position that benefits a larger number of stakeholders--more on this topic tomorrow.

If you haven't made plans to attend this weekend's Showcase Tacoma event, you are missing an opportunity to support this community's next big chance to activate Pacific Plaza--so get your feet on the street!