Tacoma Link: Down to Six Alternatives

Tacoma Link Expansion: Six Alternatives (12/5/2012)

External Link: Fill out a survey on Tacoma Link Alternatives

Yesterday, I was able to attend the Sound Transit open house on Tacoma Link Expansion.  Following the last comment period, ST and their consultants compiled a list of 24 distinct corridor alternatives.  These alternatives were based on the roughly 300 comments that were filed.  If you would like to see maps of each of the corridors, here they are in PDF: (Corridors A-E and Corridors F-K).  It's a lot to look at.

Tacoma Link Alternative
Screening Criteria
(Click to zoom in)

Perhaps more desiring of your attention are the six corridors that made it through the initial screen criteria.  Criteria were gathered from public comment and from the Streetcar Stakeholder Group in 2010-2011.  Additionally, corridors that presented serious engineering challenges were dropped.  This included corridors that had steep grades, such as with Pacific Avenue leaving Downtown or S. 19th St. leaving Downtown.

Out of 24, now there are Six

So without further ado, the corridor alternatives that made it past the first screen were:

• B1 - 6th Avenue to Union Avenue via Stadium Way and Division St.
• E1 - 19th and Martin Luther King Jr Way via Stadium Way and Division St.
• C1 - 48th and Portland Avenue via E 25th St.
• G1 - Pacific Highway
• D4 - Tacoma Mall via Portland Avenue, 38th/48th St.
• E2 - A variant of E1 with a downtown loop component on Jefferson St.

What happens now?

What happens now is an additional phase of public comment.  Concurrent with public comment, Sound Transit will now analyze the data that they have to provide some conceptual numbers for ridership, square footage of economic development potential, and capital costs.  After that, the list will be further narrowed with public comment until we come to a preferred alternative that will be presented to the Sound Transit Board in April.  I know that this is a lot of work for the consultant to engage in and have ready before April, but I was reassured that, "We are on schedule."

Do your civic duty, and fill out a survey!

Please take five minutes to fill out a survey from Sound Transit regarding the six alternatives.