Sound Transit Tacoma Link
Encyclopedia
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Tacoma Link is a 1.6 miles (2.6 km) light rail line located in Tacoma
, Washington. The line was completed in 2003 and serves the downtown area, and primarily functions to transport commuters between a combined parking garage/transit hub and the downtown core. The service is free of charge to use.
By around 1912 the city boasted 125 miles of streetcar track (much of it electrified) and almost 30 streetcar lines as well as an electric interurban
rail connection to Seattle. Tacoma also had a simple cable car
loop running from South 11th and 'A' St. to what is known now as Martin Luther King Jr. Way, down South 13th St. back to 11th and 'A'. This simple and frequent line helped to integrate trolley lines that served each street level. It also helped to ferry passengers up Tacoma’s steep hills which assisted in integrating the eastern and western sections of Downtown Tacoma.
The streetcar lines individually had experienced many troubles over their 50-year lifetime, including many buyouts, defaults, takeovers, worker strikes and one notable tragedy. On a rainy day on July 4, 1900, a trolley derailed and fell into a ravine, killing 43 passengers.
However, the system was still very successful at efficiently transporting people. At its peak the Tacoma Railway and Power Company was transporting in the range of 30,000,000 passengers a year, a number still not reached by the modern Pierce Transit
. However, because of increasing government subsidies for road construction (some of which were paid for by transit riders) the trolleys were finding it more difficult to operate in an environment increasingly dominated by personal automobiles and taxis. The year that US 99 was completed commuter traffic between Tacoma and Seattle via the electric Interurban
fell off nearly 40%, signaling the end of the trolley era. The last streetcars in Tacoma ran on April 8, 1938. The system was replaced with brand new rubber-tired buses that could more easily move in and out of the growing amounts of traffic in downtown. However, the system failed again and was eventually acquired by the City of Tacoma – becoming the precursor of Pierce Transit
.
In the mid-1990s, the Puget Sound
region was dealing with increasing traffic, driven mainly by the dot-com boom
and Microsoft
. Voters approved Sound Move, a three-county transportation package that formed Sound Transit. One of the major projects for the Pierce County/Tacoma area was Tacoma Link.
through downtown to the Theater District. This allows users to park, or transfer from buses or Sounder
and ride Link into downtown destinations. Each station also features artwork that reflects the history of the surrounding area.
and Pierce Transit
buses, Sounder
trains, plus Greyhound
. The Tacoma Dome
is only a couple blocks away. Freighthouse Square, an indoor shopping mall, is located across the street.
Artwork at the station reflects the areas history with the railroads (Freighthouse Square, for example, was an actual freighthouse for the Milwaukee Road) and the large amount of lumber mills that existed in the area. Art consists of the following:
Artwork at this station consists mainly of large fishing lures on the roof of the station platform that move in the wind. This is to reflect the fishing lure manufacture that used to take place in the area.
, Museum of Glass
, Washington State History Museum
, Tacoma Art Museum
, Union Station, a former train station that is now federal courts, local restaurants and businesses, and new condo and apartment developments. During major events on the Foss Waterway
, such as the 2005 Tall Ships Festival this station serves as a major transfer point. Many Tacoma School of the Arts students also use this station to get to their classes around downtown, such as those classes located at the Broadway Center for Performing Arts.
Artwork at the station reflects the area's American Indian culture
, and the manufacturing
and shipbuilding
that took place in the vicinity (including in many of the buildings used by UW Tacoma). Artwork
includes:
. The station platforms are split on either side of the street.
Artwork at the station includes colored panels in the roof and towers of rocks, evoking a Buddhist temple that used to exist in the area.
. It is a single-tracked
station on one side of the street.
Artwork at the station reflects the Theater District:
Sound Transit
in their plans for future extensions has made several proposals for future extension of Tacoma Link :
transit center. Service would be at ground level, either using the same Tacoma Link trolley cars or Central Link cars. This line could see a large amount of ridership, as the TCC station is a major transfer point. A run along 6th Avenue would serve this growing nightlife spot in Tacoma.
through Fife
, Federal Way
, and SeaTac
to the South 200th Station of Central Link
near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
. This would allow for travel from Downtown Tacoma (or possibly even North Tacoma, if the above extension is implemented) to Downtown Seattle
, and to Northgate
.
is calling for a restoration of the original streetcar rail system that existed in Tacoma until 1938. This push has the potential to connect with the existing Tacoma Link light rail line as well as other transit services in the area.
Tacoma Link is a 1.6 miles (2.6 km) light rail line located in Tacoma
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Washington. The line was completed in 2003 and serves the downtown area, and primarily functions to transport commuters between a combined parking garage/transit hub and the downtown core. The service is free of charge to use.
History
A century ago Tacoma, like many American cities, had an extensive rail transit system. The first two streetcar lines in Tacoma were constructed in 1888 along the lengths of Pacific Avenue and Tacoma Avenue. A pair of horses pulled each of the yellow streetcars. The lines were a success from the start, carrying many passengers, and were very soon thereafter extended. From these few lines others sprang up, each emanating from Downtown Tacoma into the surrounding areas, allowing for houses and business areas to develop.By around 1912 the city boasted 125 miles of streetcar track (much of it electrified) and almost 30 streetcar lines as well as an electric interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
rail connection to Seattle. Tacoma also had a simple cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
loop running from South 11th and 'A' St. to what is known now as Martin Luther King Jr. Way, down South 13th St. back to 11th and 'A'. This simple and frequent line helped to integrate trolley lines that served each street level. It also helped to ferry passengers up Tacoma’s steep hills which assisted in integrating the eastern and western sections of Downtown Tacoma.
The streetcar lines individually had experienced many troubles over their 50-year lifetime, including many buyouts, defaults, takeovers, worker strikes and one notable tragedy. On a rainy day on July 4, 1900, a trolley derailed and fell into a ravine, killing 43 passengers.
However, the system was still very successful at efficiently transporting people. At its peak the Tacoma Railway and Power Company was transporting in the range of 30,000,000 passengers a year, a number still not reached by the modern Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit, in full the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, is the public transit authority of Pierce County, Washington. Based in Lakewood, Washington, it was founded in 1979...
. However, because of increasing government subsidies for road construction (some of which were paid for by transit riders) the trolleys were finding it more difficult to operate in an environment increasingly dominated by personal automobiles and taxis. The year that US 99 was completed commuter traffic between Tacoma and Seattle via the electric Interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
fell off nearly 40%, signaling the end of the trolley era. The last streetcars in Tacoma ran on April 8, 1938. The system was replaced with brand new rubber-tired buses that could more easily move in and out of the growing amounts of traffic in downtown. However, the system failed again and was eventually acquired by the City of Tacoma – becoming the precursor of Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit, in full the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, is the public transit authority of Pierce County, Washington. Based in Lakewood, Washington, it was founded in 1979...
.
In the mid-1990s, the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
region was dealing with increasing traffic, driven mainly by the dot-com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. Voters approved Sound Move, a three-county transportation package that formed Sound Transit. One of the major projects for the Pierce County/Tacoma area was Tacoma Link.
Stations
The 1.6 miles (2.6 km) line runs from the Tacoma DomeTacoma Dome
The Tacoma Dome is an indoor arena located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, approximately 30 miles south of Seattle.-History:...
through downtown to the Theater District. This allows users to park, or transfer from buses or Sounder
Sounder Commuter Rail
Sounder commuter rail is a regional rail service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Tacoma. As of 2011, schedules serve the traditional peak commutes, with most trains running...
and ride Link into downtown destinations. Each station also features artwork that reflects the history of the surrounding area.
Tacoma Dome
End of the line. Allows connections to Sound TransitSound Transit
Sound Transit has been the popular name of Washington state's Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority since September 19, 1999. It was formed in 1996 by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce County Councils...
and Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit
Pierce Transit, in full the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, is the public transit authority of Pierce County, Washington. Based in Lakewood, Washington, it was founded in 1979...
buses, Sounder
Sounder Commuter Rail
Sounder commuter rail is a regional rail service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Tacoma. As of 2011, schedules serve the traditional peak commutes, with most trains running...
trains, plus Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
. The Tacoma Dome
Tacoma Dome
The Tacoma Dome is an indoor arena located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, approximately 30 miles south of Seattle.-History:...
is only a couple blocks away. Freighthouse Square, an indoor shopping mall, is located across the street.
- A footbridgeFootbridgeA footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
that looks like an old trestle - A dry riverbed with scattered industrial tools and parts around it
- Sculptures that look like dust collectors from sawmills
- Seats at the station that look like railroad spikes
- A clock that displays time by magnetically picking up metal scraps on the hour
South 25th
Right before the line turns on to Pacific Avenue and heads downtown, we find the South 25th Station. This is a single track station on one side of the street. This station's primary purpose is to serve bus lines on Pacific, but it also targets an area ripe for redevelopment and is close to the Brown and Haley candy factory.Artwork at this station consists mainly of large fishing lures on the roof of the station platform that move in the wind. This is to reflect the fishing lure manufacture that used to take place in the area.
Union Station
Arguably the main station of the line, this station serves many museums and other locations in the heart of downtown Tacoma. It is a double-track station in the median. The station serves University of Washington, TacomaUniversity of Washington, Tacoma
The University of Washington Tacoma is a four-year undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate campus in downtown Tacoma, Washington. Students can choose majors in business, education, nursing, computer science, information technology, criminal justice, social work, environmental science, urban...
, Museum of Glass
Museum of Glass
The Museum of Glass is a museum dedicated to the medium of glass art located in Tacoma, Washington. It is not to be confused with the various other Museums of Glass, such as the one in Corning, New York, as the museum focuses on Contemporary and Pacific Northwest glass-art.The museum, the...
, Washington State History Museum
Washington State History Museum
The Washington State History Museum is located in downtown Tacoma, Washington. It is owned and operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature....
, Tacoma Art Museum
Tacoma Art Museum
In May 2003, Tacoma Art Museum opened a new facility twice the size of its previous home, allowing the museum to expand on its vision and mission. American Institute of Architects AIA Gold Medal winner Antoine Predock designed the building located in the heart of Tacoma’s Cultural District...
, Union Station, a former train station that is now federal courts, local restaurants and businesses, and new condo and apartment developments. During major events on the Foss Waterway
Thea Foss
Thea Christiansen Foss was the founder of Foss Maritime, the largest tugboat company in the western United States...
, such as the 2005 Tall Ships Festival this station serves as a major transfer point. Many Tacoma School of the Arts students also use this station to get to their classes around downtown, such as those classes located at the Broadway Center for Performing Arts.
Artwork at the station reflects the area's American Indian culture
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, and the manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
and shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
that took place in the vicinity (including in many of the buildings used by UW Tacoma). Artwork
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
includes:
- The outline of a ship's frame and American Indian fishing tools in the median by the station
- Roof of the station platform is meant to look like the ribs of a ship
- Photos and poems covering manufacturing and fishing in the area on the platform
Convention Center
This station serves the new Tacoma Convention Center, Hotel Murano and major downtown employers such as Rainier Pacific Bank and DavitaDaVita
DaVita, Inc. is one of the largest kidney care companies in the United States, with corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Their offerings include in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, vascular access management, chronic kidney disease education, and renal diet...
. The station platforms are split on either side of the street.
Artwork at the station includes colored panels in the roof and towers of rocks, evoking a Buddhist temple that used to exist in the area.
Theater District
Final station of the line (currently). This station serves the Theater District, Antique Row, City Hall, Pantages Theater, several clubs and businesses, and the Russell Investment GroupRussell Investment Group
Russell Investments is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Its previous headquarters were located in Tacoma, Washington, south of Seattle. The firm is a Turnkey Asset Management Program and provides investment products and services to individuals...
. It is a single-tracked
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
station on one side of the street.
- Seats at the station resemble fold-up theater seats
- Bronze plaques in the ground are reproductions of historical theatrical posters
- Projectors project theatrical scenes on screens at night
Future
Shortly after the line was opened, the Puyallup Tribe commissioned a study investigating the extension of the line to their planned new casino a short distance East of the current endpoint of the line. This project is still a possibility.Sound Transit
Sound Transit
Sound Transit has been the popular name of Washington state's Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority since September 19, 1999. It was formed in 1996 by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce County Councils...
in their plans for future extensions has made several proposals for future extension of Tacoma Link :
North End Extension
This routing would head up either South 19th or 6th Avenue and end at the Tacoma Community CollegeTacoma Community College
Tacoma Community College is a community college located in Tacoma, Washington, with satellite operations in Gig Harbor and the Tacoma Mall. It serves the city of Tacoma and the Pierce County portion of the Kitsap Peninsula....
transit center. Service would be at ground level, either using the same Tacoma Link trolley cars or Central Link cars. This line could see a large amount of ridership, as the TCC station is a major transfer point. A run along 6th Avenue would serve this growing nightlife spot in Tacoma.
Airport Extension
This would extend Tacoma Link along Highway 99Washington State Route 99
State Route 99, abbreviated SR 99, commonly called Highway 99, is a numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Washington extending just under from Fife in the south to Everett in the north, with a gap in Tukwila.-Southern division:...
through Fife
Fife, Washington
Fife is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,173 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1940, it was described as "Fife...at a valley crossroads in the midst of a thickly settled berry growing and truck-gardening district is represented by a string of markets, taverns,...
, Federal Way
Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...
, and SeaTac
SeaTac, Washington
SeaTac is an American city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. Incorporated in February 1990, the City of SeaTac is ten square miles in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census...
to the South 200th Station of Central Link
Sound Transit Central Link
Central Link is a light rail line running between downtown Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It is the initial phase of Sound Transit's Link Light Rail system. Service operates seven days a week, from 5 am to 1 am Monday through Saturday and from 6 am to midnight on...
near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...
. This would allow for travel from Downtown Tacoma (or possibly even North Tacoma, if the above extension is implemented) to Downtown Seattle
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by the Elliott Bay, and on the south by reclaimed land that was once...
, and to Northgate
Northgate, Seattle, Washington
Northgate is an informal district of neighborhoods in north urban Seattle, Washington, named for and surrounding Northgate Mall, the first covered mall in the United States....
.
Tacoma Streetcar
Although not directly related, the popular organization Tacoma StreetcarTacoma Streetcar
Tacoma Streetcar was a growing popular movement in Tacoma to bring back electric trolley/streetcar service which helped grow the historic core of the City of Tacoma and nearby neighborhoods. The move was spearheaded by local booster, Morgan Alexander....
is calling for a restoration of the original streetcar rail system that existed in Tacoma until 1938. This push has the potential to connect with the existing Tacoma Link light rail line as well as other transit services in the area.