Tacoma Bike Share Open House

The City of Tacoma is hosting a public open house on February 25th to discuss the prospects of introducing a public bike share system to Tacoma. The City launched an investigative study to explore the viability of bringing a bike share program to Tacoma. The bike share program would be put in place to increase the use of bikes for short-range travel, decrease the use of single occupancy vehicles traveling to Tacoma, and shift to more sustainable transpiration options. 

The open house will teach those who are interested in the types of bike share systems that will work for Tacoma. There will also be an opportunity to provide feedback on the viability, station locations, and the types of technology being proposed. 

The public open house will be held on February 25th, 5:00-7:00pm at 

The Evergreen State College in the Main Hall. 

For additional information you can contact 

Diane Wiatr at dwiatr@cityoftacoma.org or at 253-591-5380.

Read more on the City's work and plans on the bike share program here.

Rad more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/politics-government/article26287957.html#storylink=cpy

Resident Engagement this Week - Be Informed, Give Input, and Have Some Fun!

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

That phrase is actually an old proverb, but you probably know it as the sentence that Jack types over and over again during his psychotic break in the movie The Shining. If you are the literary type, you might remember the phrase shows up in Jack Kerouac’s novel Big Sur.

Well, don’t worry, nothing that heavy or scary here - just a full week of ways to have fun and to “go to work” as an engaged citizen in downtown Tacoma.

Because, all play and no work make Tacoma a dull place.

Bike Train: Bike Me Out to the Ballgame

June 24, 2015 at 5:30 pm

​The Bike Committee is going to bike train from downtown to Cheney Stadium to watch the Tacoma Rainiers play the Reno Aces. The game starts at 7:05 and anyone who bikes to the game gets a special ticket rate of $11.50, which gets you a seat, a hot dog, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water.  Just tell them at the ticket counter that you biked to the game. If you want to join the bike train, meet at S. 11^th and Pacific Avenue.

ST-3 Tacoma Open House

June 24, 2015 at 5:30 pm

Good and plenty of public transit is an important factor for a thriving urban region. You can show up at this open house and give your input to The Sound Transit Board on which projects they should study as final candidates for the ST3 public vote that could be happening as soon as November 2016. The presentation will begin at 6 pm and the open house will take place at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center at 1500 Broadway.

Public Hearing on Draft of Paid Leave Rules

June 25, 2015 at 10:00 am

You have probably heard by now and I will likely be writing more about this soon, but beginning  in February 2016, Tacoma employers will be required to provide up to 24 hours of Paid Leave annually to employees within the City of Tacoma. You can read about the paid leave rules and regulations that have been drafted for review at cityoftacoma.org/paidleave. You can attend the public hearing, and provide your feedback at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch – Olympic Room at 1102 Tacoma Avenue South.

1st Annual Tacoma Waterfront Crab Feed

June 25, 2015 at 5:30 pm

If you are allergic to crab, well, I feel really bad for you and you definitely shouldn’t go to this event. But, for the rest of you – strap on your bib and join the Tacoma Waterfront Association (TWA) this Friday for the first ever Waterfront Crab Feed fundraiser at the Foss Waterway Seaport at 705 Dock Street.

Beyond eating all the crab you can, there will be chances to bid on or win prizes at the silent auction, raffles, and a ring toss. This fundraiser will be an opportunity to highlight Tacoma’s waterfront and the community and businesses within it. The event will feature prominent figures in the waterfront speaking to the latest activities and plans for the future of Tacoma’s waterfront. This fundraiser will help TWA continue its mission of making the waterfront enjoyable and accessible.

You can get your tickets now at: TWA-CrabFeed.brownpapertickets.com!

Spaceworks Tacoma - Activating Space

Activated space.

It’s one of the most important elements of community development and neighborhood revitalization. It’s importance is understood by both high level urban planners and grass roots community organizers. It speaks both to architectural design and the importance of third spaces for people to gather, and it speaks to everything in between.

In Tacoma we have an inventive and robust effort that understands the importance of activated space - it’s called Spaceworks Tacoma.

Spaceworks is a partnership between the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce that is designed to activate empty storefronts and vacant spaces in the city with art and creative enterprise.

Property owners donate their vacant spaces and Spaceworks makes those low-cost temporary spaces available to artists, entrepreneurs, organizations, and community groups who transform those spaces with creative business, art installations, short term community based projects, or pop-up events.

Spaceworks also provides training, professional development and technical assistance to the participants in the program. 

Have you seen a Spaceworks installation around town? Have you visited a Spaceworks business? Have you attended one of a plethora of creative events and parties held in a Spaceworks activated spaces?

If not, what are you waiting for? They are all around you - in the downtown neighborhood, the Hilltop, the 6th Avenue corridor, and throughout the city.

On June 3rd from noon - 1pm, Spaceworks Tacoma will be highlighted in the Walk Tacoma series for 2015. Spaceworks is hosting a free, guided Public Art Walk that will be lead by Public Art Specialist Rebecca Solverson with the City of Tacoma.

This particular art walk will be 1.5 miles and will explore the local public art and murals found throughout the Hilltop neighborhood. The walk will start at People’s Park on S. 9th and MLK Jr. Way.

One of the more whacky and fun projects that Spaceworks will be involved with is in partnership with the Cartoonist League of Absurd Washingtonians (CLAW) and Downtown on the Go (DOTG).

CLAW has their Open Swim event tonight, May 27th, 7:30 pm at King’s Books. DOTG is sponsoring this open swim event by providing ten blank white bike helmets to be drawn on and decorated by attendees.

The plan is to have the decorated helmets serve as a traveling exhibit for DOTG to be orchestrated by Spaceworks. Rumor has it these helmets might end up on the heads of some well known Tacoma personalities during the Downtown to Defiance event in September. Finally, the helmets will be auctioned off and the proceeds split between DOTG and the CLAW Student Scholarship Fund.

Now that is some creative partnership if you ask me.

The thing about activated space - it is both a function of the space itself and the people that populate it. Spaceworks is doing it’s part. Let’s do ours and populate these spaces with our presence and our dollars.

Grand Opening: Downtown Tacoma’s Newest Bicycle Infrastructure

On Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 at 8 a.m., Downtown On the Go and the City of Tacoma will be officially opening their Bike Cage in Park Plaza North Garage (923 Commerce) with a ribbon cutting and grand opening. The public is encouraged to attend.

Tacoma’s newest bike parking, the Park Plaza North Bike Cage, is conveniently located on the 5th floor of the garage, directly across from the skybridge to Broadway. Designed to remove barriers to bicycle commuting by providing a secure area to store bicycles, the bike cage was a collaboration of Downtown On the Go and City of Tacoma staff. Early studies found that many offices in downtown do not allow bicycles to sit in offices and do not provide bicycle parking, yet there are many downtown employees who like to commute by bike.

“Having options for potential bicycle commuters is crucial to increasing the number of cyclists downtown. And the more cyclists on the streets, the less cars, which means, less congestion. It’s a win-win for everyone,” says downtown business owner Judi Hyman of TwoKoi Restaurant and Chair of Downtown On the Go. Both the city and Downtown On the Go would like to install additional bicycle parking facilities if the demand is there for this one.

Those interested in using the cage can sign up with Downtown On the Go by downloading a form from the Downtown On the Go website, picking one up at the Grand Opening on Aug. 30 or by visiting Downtown On the Go (950 Pacific Ave, Suite 300, Tacoma, WA 98402). The cost of the cage is $8 per quarter or $25 per year. Users will receive a quarterly code and will be able to lock bikes to the bike racks at any time.

Contact Kristina Walker, Downtown On the Go Manager, 253-682-1739, for more information. Photos of the Bike Cage are available for viewing at the Downtown On the Go Facebook page.

Join the Tacoma Twilight Criterium

Drive Nice, Tacoma

The City of Tacoma, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and Washington State Department of Health want drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists to be aware of each other and share the road.

In a light and humorous way, the campaign, designed by Rusty George Creative strives to address a serious topic: vehicle-pedestian crashes. The goal was to make people stop and think about who else is using the road and how we can all avoid accidents by paying attention.

Fox News reported on the safety campaign here.

Mobility Master Plan Community Workshops this Week!

Join the City of Tacoma in identfying existing conditions and opportunities to improve Tacoma's bicycling and walking environments, as well as connections to transit. Three community workshops will be held this week and early next week, and Tacoma citizens are invited! Attend and voice your insights and opinions on vital transportation corridors, connectivity gaps, and Tacoma's general mobility direction. Check out the info on the city's website: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=12894

Mobility Plan Community Workshop Dates:
Wednesday, Sept. 23 - South Park Community Center
Address: 4851 S Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409
Website: http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/page.php?id=47

Thursday, Sept. 24 - Norpoint Centre
Address: 4818 Nassau Ave NE Tacoma, WA 98422
Website: http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/page.php?id=45

Monday, Sept. 28 - University of Puget Sound, Rasmussen Rotunda in Wheelock Student Center
Address: 1500 N. Warner, Tacoma, WA 98416
Website: www.pugetsound.edu