Citizen Advisory Committee Amtrak Station Relocation RECOMMENDATIONS May 1, 2013

Acknowledgements Advisory Committee Members

Jori Adkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dome Business District Elizabeth Burriss . . . . . . . . . . . New Tacoma Neighborhood Council Pierson Clair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown & Haley Su Dowie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foss Waterway Development Authority Don Erickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma Planning Commission Jason Fritzler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KPG Tina Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pierce Transit Jane Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coalition for Active Transportation David Schroedel . . . . . . . . . . . . Tacoma/Pierce County Chamber Keith Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dome Business District Andrew Strobel . . . . . . . . . . . . Puyallup Tribe Milt Tremblay . . . . . . . . . . . . . University of Washington - Tacoma David Talcott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Huitt-Zollars Janice McNeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dome Business Association Todd Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown & Haley

American Institute of Architects, SWW

Aaron Winston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BLRB Architects Les Geerstmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . BLBR Architects Ko Wibowo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McGranahan Architects

Interested Parties

David Boe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma Councilmember Ricardo Noguera . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, CEDD Director Peter Huffman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, PDS Director Ian Munce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, PDS Special Projects Cheri Gibbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, PDS Planner Chelsea Levy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound Transit Rachel Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound Transit

Brian Borgelt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Freighthouse Square Jim Guizzetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Freighthouse Square Chris Larson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, Engineering Shari Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Tacoma, CEDD Erin Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound Transit i

Background The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is engaged in upgrading the Amtrak West Coast Corridor with funding secured from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand high-speed rail corridors. As a part of that effort the Point Defiance Bypass Project moves the route inland to the east side of Tacoma cutting 10 minutes from the route and upgrading the track to support high speed service. As a result the existing Amtrak station sits on the abandoned portion and must be moved to serve the new route. WSDOT has identified the historic Freighthouse Square development (where the Sounder commuter train station is currently located) as the preferred location for the new station. The citizen advisory committee was formed by the City of Tacoma to review the proposed relocation of the Amtrak train station, currently located at 1001 Puyallup Avenue, to the Freighthouse Square mixed-use retail facility at 2501 East “D” Street. The City of Tacoma has already engaged in the development of a sub-area plan for the Tacoma Dome District where Freighthouse Square resides in its core. The City has identified potential conflicts of the station relocation proposal with District goals, which include blocking of East “C” and East “D” Streets during train stops as well as designating surface parking in the District center for train users, as top concerns. Among the Committee’s primary goals was to identify these and other issues potentially in conflict with the long-term goals of the Dome District and make recommendations relevant to the probable siting of the Amtrak station at Freighthouse Square. The Advisory Committee met six times between February 25th and April 29th, 2013 coming up with a list of 25 recommendations, some of which were specifically applicable to the Amtrak station at Freighthouse Square and others related to improving circulation (vehicular and pedestrian) within the District, addressing off-street parking, and urban design. At its meeting on April 15th, members voted as to what they considered were their highest priorities, and based on this, 11 recommendations were found to be the most important. These are indicated on the following pages. The Advisory Committee also overwhelmingly felt that its members should be included in reviewing the schematic, preliminary and final plans as they are developed by WSDOT and their consultants for the Tacoma Amtrak Station. We believe the AIA’s SW Section in particular should play a major role in this review.

ii

TACOMA AMTRAK STATION RELOCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE - RECOMMENDATIONS AGENCIES

ACTIVITY PARKING:

City/Business and Property Owners

A Parking Management and Enforcement Plan should be developed for the Dome District to ensure that all existing and future parking spaces are efficiently managed.

General

General

Pierce Transit

WSDOT/Amtrak

City of Tacoma

WSDOT/Amtrak

Page 1

EXAMPLES/EXPLANATION

Allowing “no charge” parking distorts the market making the entrance of new market driven providers unlikely.

Parking in public garages is currently “free” much of the day which encourages low priority use. Fees for parking or in conjunction with an Orca pass would encourage parking here only by Sound and Pierce Transit users, freeing up space for additional transit users as ridership grows.

All-day surface parking should be located outside of the pedestrian “core” area (see Exhibit 1) of the Dome District.

Such parking contributes little to the streetscape and does little to enliven the “core” area where pedestrian activity is supposedly centered.

Off-street parking within the district should not be “free” since in reality it is not and it distorts the market in terms of supply and demand.

Existing parking structures should be fully utilized throughout the 24 hour daily cycle as well as the seven-day weekly cycle accommodating multiple user groups and different fee structures. WSDOT should consider providing its longer-term Amtrak trainuser off-street parking outside of the “core” area of the Dome District, such as under Hwy 705 whenever possible.

Parking within the “core” should be designated as ‘short term’ to encourage commercial activity in this area. For example, commuter parkers are primarily a 6 am to 7 pm weekday activity leaving hundreds of spaces available for evening and weekend parkers, as well as Dome event users. Consistent with limiting nearby parking to encourage pedestrian activity in the “core” provide long-term parking for train travelers elsewhere.

New off-street parking should not be allowed to be located on Also, in order for this to work for these types of “core” pedestrian-oriented streets (see Exhibit 1) unless fully uses the height of the first floor should be enclosed within a mixed-use structure with at least the first 40’ designed to be at least 12’ high. (measured from the street property line) reserved for retail and/or service type uses. Any on-street short-term parking spaces lost for commuter or train Only a limited number of such spaces should ‘drop-off/pick-up’ should be replaced in the immediate area. be provided since rail users have multiple travel modes available to them in most cases

PRIORITY

2 dots

9 5 dots

6 6 dots

3 dots

10 4 dots

3 11 dots

8 5 dots

AGENCIES Pierce Transit

ACTIVITY PARKING: continued Transit hours/capacity should be extended to facilitate parking outside of the “core” area of the District, especially during major Dome events.

EXAMPLES/EXPLANATION

PRIORITY

Link service in particular as well as Pierce Transit bus service should be extended during major events at the Tacoma Dome. 1 dot

City of Tacoma

WSDOT/Amtrak

TRAFFIC CIRCULATION:

Puyallup Avenue functions as an eastInstall traffic calming devices such as landscaped medians, widened Currently west speedway creating a psychological barrier sidewalks, bulbed curb crossings, etc., on Puyallup Avenue between Hwy 705 on the west and E “G” street on the east to slow vehicular and inhibiting pedestrian crossings. traffic speed in this major east-west corridor.

Blockage of E “C” and E “D” Streets by either trains, train-related safety gates, safety arms, or signaling devices must only occur when trains are passing in order to improve pedestrian and vehicular north-south circulation throughout the district. WSDOT’s current proposal would result in these streets being blocked for longer period. Every consideration should be given to placing the platform further to the east on the existing trestle.

Currently safety arms block not only E “D” Street when a train is loading or unloading at FHS, but also E “C” Street a block away.

5 9 dots

1 22 dots

Amtrak/City of Tacoma

Amtrak should continue to work with the City and WSDOT to create a “quiet zone” throughout the core area of the District. This is seen as being critical if the area is to develop as a mixed-use residential/commercial district in the future.

2 13 dots

City of Tacoma

A system of pedestrian-oriented directional signs should be developed and placed throughout the District to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle “way-finding” both within and to destinations outside the District. Besides the Freighthouse Square and the Tacoma Dome there is also the new LeMay- America’s Car Museum as well as the Foss Waterway to the north and the Museum of Glass and Tacoma Art Museum to the west. 2 dots

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AGENCIES City of Tacoma

ACTIVITY TRAFFIC CIRCULATION: continued

EXAMPLES/EXPLANATION

PRIORITY

“Parking Available” instant reader boards identifying major offstreet parking facilities and their locations should be installed on major entrance streets into the District to more efficiently direct motorists attending Tacoma Dome events to the nearest parking facility with parking spaces available, thereby reducing unnecessary vehicle circulation throughout the district. These signs are constantly updated and not only show the number of stalls available per location but also the direction. In Tacoma, this not only includes Pierce Transit’s 2,000 space garage across from Freighthouse Square but also parking garages along Pacific Avenue. 3 dots

City of Tacoma

Multi-modal transportation alternatives should be encouraged within the District whenever possible. For example, consider installing ‘Metro-type’ bike rental or exchange kiosks at key locations throughout the district to encourage non-motorized travel. Convenient bike rental through kiosks will assist short distance travel and encourage workers to leave their cars outside the “core”. 2 dots

City of Tacoma

City of Tacoma

URBAN DESIGN: Encourage a variety and diversity of uses of various sizes to help make the District a more vibrant and pedestrian friendly area. Such uses provide convenience reducing vehicle trips while providing activity that will help the District become an attractive destination. Buildings fronting on “core” pedestrian designated streets should feature visually interesting retail and service type uses at streetlevel to increase pedestrian activity and interest in the area. Pedestrian activity attracts more people and more business. Blank storefronts discourage activity. As long as displays do not inhibit pedestrian circulation or pose a safety hazard, outside displays should be encouraged during business hours. Page 3

Along pedestrian designated “core” streets (see Exhibit 1) a priority should be given to attracting new uses that are visually interesting and contribute to the streetscape. 2 dots

AGENCIES WSDOT/Amtrak

ACTIVITY STATION DESIGN: Preference should be given to relocating the Amtrak station to Freighthouse Square if off-street parking, street blockage, and facility issues can be resolved.

A majority of the Committee members felt it was imperative to keep the Amtrak station in Tacoma and preferably at Freighthouse Square assuming impacts to the surrounding area can be adequately mitigated. WSDOT/Amtrak

EXAMPLES/EXPLANATION

PRIORITY

4

9 dots

Station design should anticipate future growth of rail travel and be designed to accommodate additional users in future years. With increasing vehicular congestion on existing freeways as well as increasing delays seen in air travel, train travel is becoming a more attractive alternative, in terms of both cost and travel time. As a means of increasing local tourism baggage storage lockers should be provided so rail users can store their luggage while visiting attractions in the Dome District or elsewhere in the city.

3 dots

WSDOT/Amtrak

The Amtrak station should be designed so that it is integral to FHS with its primary ingress and egress through the central concourse of the building when Freighthouse Square is open rather than through separate exterior entrances/exits.

7

It is realized that there may be times such as early morning or late at night when FHS will be closed and separate entrances will be required. This, however, should be the exception for ingress/egress, not the norm.

5 dots

Page 4

AGENCIES WSDOT/Amtrak

ACTIVITY STATION DESIGN: continued Waiting areas should be informative not only regarding Amtrak scheduling and destinations, but also regarding Tacoma and its multiple assets including its many educational, employment, recreational and cultural facilities. Informational kiosks should be integral to the station design both within and outside the station. The Amtrak Station provides a major opportunity to inform visitors and commuters about the many assets of the city and region.

EXAMPLES/EXPLANATION

PRIORITY

11

4 dots

WSDOT/City of Tacoma

Consideration should be given to using “1% for the Arts” monies, for the commissioning of a large ‘station clock’ readily visible in the area near Tacoma’s multi-modal transit station. In most countries such ‘station clocks’ are considered to be functional attributes of their train stations.

2 dots

Page 5

Exhibit 1 - Dome District Aerial showing ¼ mile “core”

Hwy 705 Puyallup Avenue

E “D” St.

¼ mi.

25th St.

P

P

Estimated length of Amtrak ‘Cascade’ – Estimated length of Amtrak ‘Starlight’ Point Defiance Bypass Route Pedestrian-oriented “Core” Streets Potential off-street parking locations

Page 6

P

E “G” St. P

P

+600 feet long l

P

26th Street

+1,200 feet long

Probable New Station Site