Help Save the "B" Street Ravine

Here's a nice letter published by The News Tribune
by BLISS MOORE; Tacoma
Published: 08/01/09 12:05 am
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TACOMA: Rail crossing must accommodate wildlife

Re: “Rail to Lakewood: Get on with it” (editorial, 7-29).

The 100-plus community members attending the Sound Transit community meeting in Tacoma Tuesday were unanimous that, at the very least, the B Street Ravine crossing should be on posts and beams and not on a berm.

That ravine is part of a wildlife corridor from the southern uplands north to the Foss Waterway. Though there are still two other barriers (Tacoma Rail tracks and 25th Street) in the ravine, berming for the new Sound Transit Sounder tracks would essentially seal off this ravine forever.

Berming would be contrary to re-establishing this wildlife corridor per the comprehensive plan for this area. The post-and-beam construction, with its small additional cost, would provide a better opportunity in the future to modify these other barriers, making an open corridor for wildlife and a trail for people from the McKinley Park area to the Foss Waterway.

The Dome District deserves a decent chance to become a vibrant business district around “The Transportation Hub” of Tacoma and the region, much like Spokane has now.

The Dome District group’s own independent engineering report indicates that constructing with posts and beams could be done more simply and inexpensively than Sound Transit estimates.

Tacoma should embrace preservation of vital urban open space to attract the new businesses and residents the city needs to become a model for sustainable urban growth and development.

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Here's the online link, where you can leave comments:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/letters/story/830566.html

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We urge you and others to write to The News Tribune, here's the email address to write to: letters@thenewstribune.com

The Tacoma Weekly has a Front Page page story written by John Larson in this weeks paper. Here's a link to the online article: http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/3356

Please sign our Online Petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/844347001
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