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."

Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker also commented on the project, noting that "Improving pedestrian and bicycle options is critical for the health and safety of our residents, as well as advancing our 2030 Climate Action Plan goals. This project on Portland Avenue will make a vital connection to our multi-modal network and help residents get around safely without a car."

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Council Member Catherine Ushka from District 4 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. This funding is critical to bringing our vision for a walkable and bikeable Eastside community to life. Thank you to the Puget Sound Regional Council for recognizing the importance of this project."

The grant provides funding for community engagement and preliminary engineering for a comprehensive traffic study, survey, and design plan with the goal of transforming Portland Avenue into an area with lower driver speeds while enhancing safety for all travel modes while fostering a stronger sense of community. The northern section of this work will connect to planned light rail and transit improvements as well as the planned regional Tacoma to Puyallup Trail while its southern end directly connects to the Pipeline Trail with popular destinations such as the Eastside Community Center, First Creek Middle School, and Portland Avenue Park nearby.

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Portland Avenue was identified in Tacoma's Vision Zero Action Plan due its number of fatal or serious crashes combined with high driver speeds, inadequate bike facilities, limited pedestrian crossing options which all contribute towards making it a high-risk corridor in need of improvement. The City looks forward to working closely with partners such as Puyallup Tribe, Sound Transit, Pierce Transit among others in order to improve safety along one of Tacoma's highest crash corridors while also increasing multimodal access connectivity.

Those interested in learning more about the Portland Avenue Vision Zero Project can contact City Project Manager Charla Kinlow at ckinlow@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 208-4223 or visit cityoftacoma.org/capitalprojects or cityoftacoma.org/visionzero for more information about other capital projects or Vision Zero Action Plan respectively

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