Public meetings scheduled to discuss $2.5M Tacoma crosswalk improvement project

The City of Tacoma will host two public meetings to discuss the Pedestrian Crossings Improvement Project, a $2.5 million project that aims to identify, evaluate, upgrade, and in some instances create new pedestrian crosswalks throughout Tacoma.

The City is directing approximately $300,000 from its General Fund to each of the five Tacoma City Council districts, and an additional $1 million within the downtown area, for project improvements identified by community members during six public meetings held in March and April.

According to a legal notice published in the Tacoma Daily Index in April, the project calls for street improvements such as crosswalk striping, curb ramp and sidewalk construction, curbing and drainage improvements, limited paving, vehicle/bike/pedestrian detection, pedestrian-activated flashing beacons, lighting, signing, and accessibility upgrades to existing traffic signals, among others.

Last month, three contractors submitted Statements of Qualification for the project: Tucci & Sons (Tacoma, Wash.); BCRA (Tacoma, Wash.); and Johansen Excavating, Inc. (Buckley, Wash.). The City is rolling out a two-phase process for selecting a contractor for the project — first asking for Statements of Qualification from contractors in order to create a short-list of qualified companies, then later issuing a Request for Proposals to the short-listed contractors.

Meanwhile, the City will host public meetings in June and July to share the information gathered during the public meetings held earlier this year. City staff plan to share survey results, feedback, project priorities, and a tentative project schedule.

A public meeting covering improvements to downtown, the tide flats, Northeast Tacoma, North Tacoma, and the West End (Council Districts 1 and 2) will be held on Mon., June 30, at 5:30 p.m., at the Wells Fargo Courtyard Conference Room, 1201 Pacific Ave., in downtown Tacoma. A public meeting covering improvements to Central Tacoma, South Tacoma, the South End, and East Side (Council Districts 3, 4 and 5) will be held on Weds., July 9, at 6 p.m., at the Blix Elementary School Cafeteria, 1302 E. 38th St., in Tacoma.

More information is available online at cityoftacoma.org/walk.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the pedestrian crossing improvement project, click on the following links: