Methanol: Evacuation would be a nightmare

I am a lifelong Tacoma resident and have been working at or around the Port of Tacoma for the last 40 years. I have worked within many of the legacy businesses in that area that have shut down for one reason or another and left Tacoma residents with environmental issues that may never be cleaned up.

I drive by the proposed site at least twice a day and am amazed that both the city and Port of Tacoma are expecting us to believe that they can manage something of this magnitude when they cant even fix the obstacle course called Taylor Way.

There you have to drive down the middle turn lane to avoid the potholes that just keep getting worse and also have to dodge the semi trucks making illegal U-turns, blocking intersections and traffic lanes from Lincoln Avenue to state Route 509 waiting to offload cargo at the Alexander Avenue terminal.

I can only imagine what would happen if there were a natural or manmade disaster and the area had to be evacuated. It would take hours.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Methanol: Evacuation would be a nightmare."