News & Notes
Metro Parks staff understand not everyone can go to a public meeting. That's why we also use surveys and encourage emails and phone calls to our project managers when we undertake capital improvements.
Still, public meetings can be great venues for discussion. There is something Norman Rockwell-ish about them. I spent some time in the Northeast before returning to Tacoma two years ago and was always impressed by the "town hall" approach. It can encourage honest dialogue.
Regardless of format, Metro Parks puts a lot of effort into encouraging public participation. When we say we want to know what's on your mind, and we want you to influence the process, we mean it.
Last week, about 50 citizens visited the Point Defiance Pagoda to talk with project managers about ways to improve parking, transportation and traffic in general in Point Defiance Park. Staff and consultants gathered the input they gave and will use it to help plan improvements to parking.
Staff also heard from many residents of the City of Ruston. Though Ruston is not in the park district, it borders Point Defiance Park. That makes Ruston one of Metro Parks' neighbors.
Many had questions about the status of the waterfront and peninsula construction taking place in the park's "Triangle." They wanted to know how high and for how long the dirt will be stored there, and they wanted to hear about long-term plans for the area. Some had suggestions for improving communications, and some want to make sure that City of Ruston staff and regular citizens can be involved in future planning. We appreciated the thoughtful discussion.
You can find an update of the Triangle's status on
DestinationPointDefiance.org. That's a URL we began using two years ago as a go-to place for updates, project summaries, time frames and illustrations for everything regarding the long-term improvements to Point Defiance Park. That includes not only remediation of contaminated soil in the Triangle but also construction of the "missing link" trail between Ruston Way and the park, transformation of the Asarco slag pile peninsula into an 11-acre park, and the opening in 2018 of a new Pacific Seas Aquarium.
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Michael Thompson is public information officer of Metro Parks Tacoma. Contact him at (253) 305-1092 or michaelt@tacomaparks.com
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Beyond the Triangle or
DestinationPointDefiance.org, though, you can find out virtually anything about the park district by checking our
website or just asking. Metro Parks is a public agency, and the people who work throughout the district take transparency seriously. It doesn't hurt that more than a few of us in the communications offices are former journalists who care about making sure people are informed.
Here are some of the best ways to stay up to date and get involved in Metro Parks planning and improvements...
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