Tacoma City Council is scheduled to be briefed Tuesday on a plan to an additional Link light rail stop on Commerce Street between south 11th and 12th Streets.
In January, the Tacoma Daily Index first reported (“City envisions Link light rail station near 11th Street,” TDI, 01/08/10 — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1694358&more=0 and http://i.feedtacoma.com/TDI-Reporters-Notebook/new-link-light-rail-station/ ) the City was exploring this possibility with Sound Transit, which operates Link light rail. On Dec. 31, Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson noted in his weekly report to City Council ( http://cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=13705 ) that the Public Works Department was working on a design for the new light rail station, which would be smaller and less expensive than the other Link stops. According to Anderson’s report, the new station would cost approximately $135,000 and would be completed in May. The plan was discussed Dec. 15 during Tacoma City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting. At the time, then-councilmember Connie Ladenburg asked if any progress was made on the project.
City engineer and assistant public works director Jim Parvey confirmed the details with the Index in January. Parvey said engineers from the Public Works Department met with Sound Transit representatives last spring to walk the affected rail line, take measurements, and see if Sound Transit was onboard with the idea. That meeting led his staff to begin drawing up plans for the station. “It’s just a simple design at this point,” said Parvey earlier this year. “It does not show any architectural treatment.”
“Last year, the City asked us for some assistance to look at the feasibility of an additional city-funded Tacoma Link stop in between Convention Center and Theater District stations,” Sound Transit spokesperson Andrew Schmid told the Index in January. “If Tacoma decides to pursue the possibility of an additional stop, Sound Transit will work with the City and other affected parties to explore options and any construction and service implications.”
In April, Anderson provided an update on the project in one of his city manager’s reports ( http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=14734 ). “The Link light rail platform station is currently under design,” wrote Anderson. “We have hired KPFF to prepare the plans and specifications needed to build the new stations. Several meetings have taken place with Sound Transit to discuss design options and concerns.”
City Council will be updated on the project during its noon study session Tues., Aug. 31, at Tacoma Municipal Building North, 733 Market St., Room 16. Audio from the session will be broadcast live on TV Tacoma and on http://www.tvtacoma.com .
