Washingtoner - City of Tacoma Awarded Million in Grant Funding for Portland Avenue Vision Zero Project in District 4

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~ The City of Tacoma's Public Works Department has been awarded a $2,119,250 grant from the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) Transportation Alternatives Program to identify and design safety improvements, enhance pedestrian and bicycle connections, and provide better access to public transit on Portland Avenue from East 27th to East 56th Street. The Portland Avenue Vision Zero Project received the highest score in PSRC's regional Transportation Alternatives Program competition.

Mayor Victoria Woodards expressed her enthusiasm for the grant, saying "This funding is great news for our community as we work to improve our roads and meet our Vision Zero goals. Portland Avenue is one of our most high-traffic corridors that many residents use to get around East Tacoma and access I-5 and transit, and these planned improvements will help us ensure every trip along this street is a safe one for every driver, cyclist and pedestrian."

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Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker also commented on the importance of the project in relation to Tacoma's 2030 Climate Action Plan goals. "Improving access for pedestrians and bicyclists is critical for the health and safety of our community," she said. "The Portland Avenue Vision Zero Project is vitally important to Tacoma's multi-modal network. When complete, community members in the area can get around safely without a car."

District 4 Council Member Catherine Ushka added that "This grant represents the beginning of reinvesting in neighborhood corridors to enhance community safety...Our city streets should not be speedways through our neighborhoods, and this grant will help mitigate traffic impacts and increase health and safety through some of our low opportunity areas."

The grant provides funding for community engagement and preliminary engineering for a comprehensive traffic study, survey, and design plan. The project's outcome will be a community-informed transformation of Portland Avenue with the goal of lowering driver speeds while enhancing safety for all travel modes while fostering a stronger sense of community. It will also connect with planned light rail improvements as well as popular destinations such as Eastside Community Center, First Creek Middle School, Portland Avenue Park, Tacoma to Puyallup Trail, Pipeline Trail etc.

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Portland Avenue was identified as a high-risk corridor in Tacoma's Vision Zero Action Plan due to its number of fatal or serious crashes along with high driver speeds, inadequate bike facilities or limited pedestrian crossing options. The City looks forward to working closely with partners such as Puyallup Tribe or Sound Transit etc., in order to improve safety along this corridor while increasing multimodal access & connectivity.

For more information about the project or other capital projects visit cityoftacoma.org/capitalprojects or cityoftacoma.org/visionzero respectively or contact City Project Manager Charla Kinlow at ckinlow@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 208-4223 with any questions regarding it.

Filed Under: Government, City

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