PLEASE ATTEND THE TACOMA PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

The commission appears ready to cut Hilltop out of the light rail extension

This Wednesday, April 23rd, 5:00, 

The Tacoma City Council chambers, 747 Market St

The commission appears ready to cut Hilltop out of the light rail extension next week. If they approve the change to the years-old plan to run the rail up 19th St, the City Council may well rubber stamp the proposal. T

During the public comment period, a woman who has lived on Hilltop for 60 years presented the list below of 36 vital services and resources that Hilltop residents have been counting on for years (map below), but would be deprived of these, including:

• Three hospitals and a score of other health resources,

• Child and human services,

• Elder care, 

• Fred Myers, Target, Walmart, 

• TACIT (the Tacoma Area Coalition of Individuals with Disabilities), 

• Cheney Stadium 

• and TCC.

There are clearly powerful forces trying to reroute the rail up 6th Ave and deprive the Hilltop of 19th St resources. There hasn't been time to research them (which we will), but they have operated quietly enough that the proposed new route is new to almost all of us.

Beyond the many moral issues presented by all this, there are practical ones that also deserve attention. 19th St is broad enough for the rail. 6th Ave isn't. Parking on 6th Ave is already challenging, but it is a nice place to walk. The rail would make both parking and walking more difficult.