The City of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department have teamed up to host “Downtown to Defiance Sunday Parkways.”

The human-powered transportation event will designate approximately seven miles of waterfront streets for use by cyclists and pedestrians only between 8 a.m. and noon on Sun., Sept. 22. Participants are encouraged to gather at the Tacoma Dome plaza at 7:30 a.m. for the inaugural parkways ride kickoff beginning at 8 a.m. Tacoma’s cycling shops will offer repair services at three rest stops along the route: Thea’s Park; Dickman Mill Park; and Marine Park. The stops will feature opportunities for participants to get creative, get in touch with nature, get physical, and have their Passport to the Point stamped to receive special offers at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and the Point Defiance Marina Complex.

The event marks the opening of Metro Parks Tacoma’s new interim trail linking Ruston Way to Point Defiance Park.

The interim trail will serve as a temporary connection for non-motorized access to the park, as Metro Parks Tacoma develops a permanent Point Defiance trailhead and pedestrian-friendly entry from the waterfront to the park over the next two years. It’s all part of a vision to create a waterfront connection from the Tacoma Dome to Point Defiance Park.

The first 1,500 participants to register for the event will receive a complementary cinch pack.

Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bike Club will host two long distance rides which will depart through the Dome to Defiance footprint at 8 a.m. and continue on for 25- and 45-mile rides along the Scott Pierson Trail and across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor. Participants in the distance rides must be registered with Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bike Club.

Downtown to Defiance is presented by the City of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department. It is sponsored by US Bank. More information is available online at downtowntodefiance.com.