Friday, September 08, 2006

Managing Tollefson Plaza

Despite all the recent attention paid Tollefson (formerly Pacific) Plaza, there's still not much going on there--at least not on a regular basis. As the report from Project for Public Spaces noted, "activation" of that public space will take management--proactive oversight by an entity made up of "zealous nuts" who will act professionally yet with passion.

A committee pulling together representatives from the BIA, City of Tacoma, Metropolitan Parks District, and neighbors around the Plaza has begun meeting and hopes to have completed a draft business plan for just such a management entity by month's end. The vehicle is likely to be a non-profit patterned after Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to manage the downtown park known as the city's "living room".

Meanwhile, exciting new ideas for activities in Tollefson Plaza continue to roll in to this office. Watch for a preview of some of the most interesting ones in a future post.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:45 AM

    Do we really have to call if Tollefson Plaza? Let the city call it that but I don't think the public has to.

    And do we get a carousel for the holidays? A carousel almost seems to be a given for the plaza.

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  2. Anonymous4:54 PM

    Given the immediate and healthy adoption of the space by the area skateboarders, would they be invited to participate in these meetings? They are already stakeholders in the space, of course, and have demonstrated the kind of initiative and proactive use of the space that we are all looking for.

    Is there room for our skateboarding citizens in this space?

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  3. Anonymous12:38 PM

    The problems addressed by PPS have not been acted upon. Still no trash cans. The crosswalk needs to be responsive to pedestrians not cars. Students are returning to UWT next week- look forward to trash strewn all over, rampant jaywalking and students being hassled for skateboarding. Not a nice way to welcome our newest downtown residents. What's the point in a public plaza- if it's uninviting.

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  4. Anonymous1:39 PM

    I think the skateboarders have already found the plaza. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe I have seen damaged steps at the plaza already.

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  5. Anonymous9:27 PM

    We have an inexpensive solution to repair and prevent that damage, "anonymous." A simple 1/4 steel band along the top of the first riser and some dyed concrete patch will essentially return the damaged area to its original, intended condition and prevent any additional damage. There are several other solutions that may cost a little more but would be better...such as reforming the bottom-most landing in a higher PSI concrete.

    There are ways to mitigate the activity as well that don't involve prohibiting access to the space which we'd be happy to talk about with anyone ready to geek out why skateboarding is happening there.

    I'm always available to talk about this: 206-235-0138

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  6. Anonymous8:20 PM

    The carasoul is a great idea-also how about a skating rink during the holidays, like westgate has.
    j@urbanX

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