St. Helens Avenue in downtown Tacoma will become a one-way street as part of an ambitious makeover of the neighborhood.
But the latest plan has the traffic flowing southbound – or downhill – rather than northbound, which is what city officials originally envisioned.
After hearing from downtown business owners, a City Council committee agreed to change directions on the planned switch and recommend the southbound configuration. The full council will hear a first reading of an ordinance authorizing the change on Tuesday, and a vote could come the following week.
The street change is part of the city’s $12 million attempt to create an “urban village” in the area between the Theater District and the Stadium District. Last year, council members approved creating a Local Improvement District to pay for everything from construction of sidewalks, streets and utilities to traffic-calming curb extensions and ornamental street lights. Broadway also will see a traffic change, becoming a two-way street between South Seventh and South Ninth streets.
Business owners objected to the planned change to St. Helens, prompting the city to revisit the issue. No one in the Downtown Tacoma Merchants Group liked the idea of making the street one-way with northbound traffic, said Marty Campbell, the group’s past president. The merchants didn’t want to steer motorists out of the downtown core, Campbell said.
Sending traffic down the hill on St. Helens not only will funnel cars into downtown, but it also will allow more parking spaces – 96 versus 86 – than making it uphill only. And it will allow motorists to drive straight into the street’s angled parking spaces, rather than requiring them to back into them.
Although the group was united in its dislike of the one-way northbound idea, they split over whether it should be one-way with southbound traffic or remain a two-way, Campbell said.
City staff recommended staying with the original one-way northbound plan. The council’s Economic Development Committee decided otherwise and recommended a southbound one-way configuration to the full council.
Bicyclists aren’t happy with the outcome, said City Manager Eric Anderson. That’s because St. Helens, with its relatively mild slope, offers cyclists the easiest path out of downtown.
City officials are looking into the possibility of building a bike lane between the sidewalk and the parking spaces, that would allow bicyclists to ride against traffic, Anderson said.
Construction related to the Local Improvement District is scheduled to begin in mid-August, said city spokeswoman Karrie Spitzer. The project is expected to be finished by December 2008.
Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542
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