Winter 2019 News From District 5 Council Member Chris Beale
City of Tacoma Washington sent this bulletin at 02/25/2019 07:22 AM PST
Winter 2019
Greetings!
Welcome to my first e-newsletter of 2019. I am gratefully in service to you, the citizens of South Tacoma, Southeast Tacoma and the east side. As your Council Member representing District 5, I serve on committees working on community vitality and safety;and infrastructure, planning and sustainability issues. Some of the primary issues I am working on are covered below. Creating a safer community for all is my primary goal.
I want to know what matters to you in District 5. You can reach me at chris.beale@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 591-5164. If you would like to meet with me in person, please call (253) 591-5470 to schedule an appointment.
Every quarter, you will receive e-newsletter updates from me about my work on the Tacoma City Council and projects taking place throughout District 5. I encourage you to invite others to sign up for this e-newsletter using this online link.
Red shows currently Planned Street Initiative projects, Yellow shows other projects
Tacoma Streets Initiative: Your Tax Dollars at Work!
In 2015, Tacoma voters said yes to repairing Tacoma’s streets and passed Proposition 3 and Proposition A. Together, these propositions will raise funds through an increase in taxes that are set to expire after ten years. Over this time frame, proposition funding will combine with city funds and matching funds with the goal of raising $325 million for Tacoma’s streets. When these factors come together they create the Tacoma Streets Initiative that will maintain city streets through a number of ways.
You can use the following link to see an interactive map of projects across the city. TacomaStreetsInitiative.org/
New International Regulations to Affect Recycling in Tacoma
The majority of Tacoma’s recyclables are sold overseas, mainly in Asia, where countries have adopted strict policies regarding material quality. Materials that do not meet the new requirements are rejected. There is low to no tolerance for dirty or improperly sorted items. More than ever, it’s important to emphasize quality over quantity and the need for clean recyclables. In the recent past, materials were marketed at a profit. Now as a result of the new policies, the City of Tacoma is facing increased costs to maintain its recycling program.
Did You Know?
In 2018, China banned the import of most paper and plastic for recycling.
Much of the material China received was considered contamination because it was dirty or wasn’t valuable.
This policy shift is causing higher costs for the City of Tacoma’s recycling program.
The City needs to make some changes to the curbside recycling program, but we need YOUR input as customers.
Provide Your Feedback by Taking a Brief Survey
Take the survey by March 15, 2019, to be entered into a random drawing for $50 Visa gift card (excludes City employees). You can find the survey online at TacomaRecylces.org/Changes.
Bus Rapid Transit Coming to South End and SE Tacoma!
Pierce Transit is studying the feasibility of implementing Bus Rapid Transit along a 14.4-mile corridor on Pacific Avenue | SR 7 between downtown Tacoma and Spanaway.
The corridor is currently served by Pierce Transit’s Route 1, which has the highest ridership of any route (averaging 5,950 weekdays boardings). Riders currently board this 14.4-mile portion of the Route 1 nearly 3,500 times each weekday and make up 65 percent of the route’s ridership.
What is Bus Rapid Transit?
Bus Rapid Transit systems are designed to carry larger numbers of riders with greater speed, reliability and frequency than a standard fixed-route bus. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is:
Safe, fast, and reliable transportation that will connect the South Sound community
A time-saving escape from gridlock with relaxing, frequent service and state-of-the-art buses that can comfortably hold up to 90 passengers and have amenities such as Wi-Fi and multiple boarding doors.
A fast ride that rivals car travel times, with buses arriving every 10-15 minutes
New BRT Stations will feature pre-payment options, real-time travel info and weather protection
Accessible to all with level boarding for bikes, strollers, wheel chairs and pedestrians
Environmentally-friendly, high-speed transit for a fraction of the cost of rail modes
A uniquely branded system that is easy to understand and use
Better opportunities for economic development along the corridor
Pierce Transit Training Center Rainier Conference Room Voice Your Opinion 3720 96th Street SW | Lakewood 98499 Served by Routes 3, 4 & 48. Monday, March 11 4:00 pm
Community Cleanup Dates for District 5
The 2019 Community Cleanup program will kick off on April 27, and this year will include paper-shredding services at most locations as well as dumpsters and recycling stations.
The program is a partnership between the City and neighborhood groups for one cleanup day per calendar year. The cleanup day provides an opportunity for residential customers, who live in single-family homes or duplexes, to clean their properties and save a trip to the Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center. The program relies on volunteers from neighborhood groups, and in 2018, more than 400 volunteers made the cleanup program successful removing close to 900 tons of unwanted items from neighborhoods across Tacoma.
For more information contact Neighborhood and Community Services at (253) 591-5693 or agibilisco@cityoftacoma.org.
Cleanup Dates
April 27
10 AM to 1:45 PM
Neighborhood(s): Edison
Location: Edison Elementary School (5830 S. Pine St.)
May 4
10 AM to 1:45 PM
Neighborhood(s): Blueberry Park, Larchmont, Fern Hill and Spooner’s Tract
Location: Larchmont Elementary School (8601 E. B St.)
June 15
9 AM to 2:30 PM
Neighborhood(s): Hillsdale Neighbors, Park Ave. Neighborhood and Pak Yak, Shaska Yak, Sheri Yak and Birney Baker
Location: St. Ann Church (7025 S. Park Ave.)
June 29
10 AM to 1:45 PM
Neighborhood(s): South Tacoma Neighborhood Council
Location: Bates Technical College - South Campus (2201 S. 78th St.)
Larchmont Area Green Infrastructure
The Larchmont Permeable Neighborhood Project will improve water quality in the Flett Creek Watershed through replacement of approximately 27 blocks of failed residential roadway with permeable pavement. This project will provide basic treatment of stormwater for common urban contaminants and will also reduce flows through stormwater infiltration. The project will provide 43 acres of water quality treatment and increased flow control to help restore natural hydrologic conditions in this basin.
Why this Project?
The City’s Mobility Master Plan which is part of the City’s Transportation Master Plan was established through extensive public outreach. As a result, A Street is identified to be a low speed, low volume street with traffic calming measures for increased comfort for bicyclists, a perfect match for a permeable street. Stormwater runoff from all neighborhoods is contaminated with sediment and common urban stormwater contaminants such as metals, nutrients, oils and many organic compounds such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalates. Without projects like this one, these pollutants flow untreated into Puget Sound
Goals
Provide water quality improvement and flow control for 43 equivalent acres in an residential neighborhood.
Retrofit 27 blocks of failing residential roadways with permeable roadways and sidewalks, soil amendments, and street trees.
Provide a safer pedestrian and bicycle networks
Improve the City’s Urban Canopy.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Flett Creek’s primary surface water management goal is to reduce flows, followed closely by improving water quality. Green infrastructure meets both of these objectives. The City’s large stormwater holding basins are not enough to control flows within this basin. To help manage stormwater with its associated contaminants and move toward restoration of this watershed, more distributed infiltration through Green Infrastructure projects like this is vital to the health of this sensitive receiving water.
For More Information Contact Jessica Knickerbocker City of Tacoma Environmental Services Dept. (253) 502-2119 jknicker@cityoftacoma.org
Fawcett Walk to School Event
On February 8, the Tacoma Arts Commission and City of Tacoma partnered with Fawcett Elementary to host a winter Walk to School event complete with live music and hot chocolate. The artist team working on the E. 64th Street Improvement Project coordinated the school event as a way to engage with the community while supporting Safe Routes to School.
Students and families were encouraged to walk to school or park a few blocks away and walk. When students arrived, they were greeted with high-fives, live music from Big World Breaks, hot chocolate, and stickers that showcased the public art coming to E. 64th Street. A student was overheard exclaiming to the principal, “Snow, hot chocolate, and music… this is the best day ever!”
