This week, city planners, elected officials, representatives from Pierce Transit and Sound Transit met with residents of the Tacoma Hilltop Neighborhood to talk about what transit means for the future of the neighborhood.
Partnering with Tacoma Urban League, Transportation Choices Coalition held a forum on Growing Transit Communities, a program designed to help make the most the region’s investment in rapid transit by locating housing, jobs, and services close enough to transit so that more people will have a faster and more convenient way to travel, The forum gave attendees an opportunity to share their vision for the Hilltop neighborhood. The group discussed what equity means with access to services, barriers in place, and learned how to get involved in the process of public comment on transportation and city planning. Representatives from The City of Tacoma department of public works discussed the process to update to the city’s comprehensive plan over the next two years. Mayor of Tacoma, Marilyn Strickland, spoke passionately about the need for more public comments from citizens attending the forum “We need to hear from you”, she said.
Pierce Transit Government Relations staff, Justin Leighton, also a resident of the Hilltop Neighborhood, was on hand to answer questions about how Pierce Transit operates and is funded, as well as cuts looming this September due to the failure of Proposition 1 at the ballot last fall.
The conversation centered on a big change for the future of Hilltop, and opportunity for public comment. Last month, Sound Transit board’s unanimously decided to continue to study the Hilltop Corridor for expansion of the Tacoma Link system. While laying down track is a long way off, this fall there will be many opportunities to engage with Sound Transit as the agency moves forward with studying the corridor.
