Berm-ingham or Beamtown?

rendering courtesy of city of tacoma

CROSSING PATTERN. This rendering shows what the crossing at Pacific Avenue might look like at night.

Should Sound Transit use earthen berms to elevate the tracks for the extension of the Sounder commuter rail line from Dome District as it extends west? Or should the regional agency aim for a post and beam design, a style similar to the monorail in Seattle? Sound Transit favors the former, at least for the majority of this section of the route, while a number of vocal Dome District business and property owners prefer the latter.

This section of the track will begin near Freighthouse Square, go west between South 25th and 26th streets, then cross Pacific Avenue on an elevated structure before shifting in a southwest direction parallel to South Tacoma Way. It will stop at a transit center in South Tacoma and at its final destination in Lakewood. Currently this section is scheduled for completion in 2012. Once finished, commuters could ride from Lakewood to Seattle and Everett on the same rail system.

The opposition to the berm approach has been led by Jori Adkins, a property owner in Dome District, and Keith Stone, president of the neighborhood’s merchant group and the former owner of Freighthouse Square. Stone hired architects to come up with a new design that shows how they envision a post and beam concept. So far, Community Council of Tacoma, the umbrella group for the neighborhood councils around the city, has officially endorsed their concept. Adkins has been to several recent meetings of the individual councils to garner their support.

The topic came up during Tacoma City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on July 7. City Manager Eric Anderson noted the only thing city employees are working on is design elements of the crossing at Pacific Avenue. People with concerns on any other aspect “should take them to Sound Transit,” he remarked.

According to a report prepared by engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff released last week, post and beam has some good features. It would provide a more open feeling and supporting the structure on deep foundations could reduce the need to shore up the tracks during construction of shallow foundations.

It also has drawbacks. Open space could become hangouts for people engaged in undesirable activity, a key concern in a section of the city that has long attracted transients and drug users. This could result in additional police patrols, or even fencing around the areas.

Deeper excavation could result in an unbalanced load on the piers. This could require shoring to prevent displacement of the train structure, which could hamper development potential in the future.

Councilmember Julie Anderson, who represents the city on the Sound Transit Board, said an independent firm was selected to provide an objective viewpoint.

Sound Transit estimates shifting the emphasis to post and beam would add $4 million to the cost of the project.

In addition to additional costs and delays on a project already behind schedule, Anderson expressed doubts that a post and beam design would spur very much development.

Mark Johnson, a project manager with Sound Transit, stressed safety concerns during the July 8 meeting of the council’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

“We have not had a single pedestrian death to date. We want to keep it that way.”

In a few sections post and beam could be utilized, but for the most part safety and security, not costs, make a berm design preferable, he said. The agency would not allow parking or buildings underneath elevated tracks, Johnson added.

“We have made a number of changes in design over the last year based on input from the public,” Johnson remarked.

“I think this is a travesty that the city is allowing Sound Transit to do,” Stone said during public comment that day.

Most citizens attending a public meeting at city hall on July 16 favored the post and beam design.

Darrel Bowman, vice president of the Dome District, claims the berm will eliminate 124 parking spaces. He also fears people will walk up the berm and across the tracks, especially when there are major events at Tacoma Dome.

“Getting up to Pacific is the controversy, not getting over it,” Bowman said. “This is about our city and what will happen to it long term.

Sound Transit convened a meeting at Freighthouse Square on July 27, which included a walk along the proposed route.

“I am looking at this with a new set of eyes,” said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, who joined the Sound Transit Board upon taking office in January. She does feel it is likely too late for post and beam to prevail over the berm. “The train has left the station, so to speak,” she said. “Sound Transit is listening and trying to address the concerns.”

“It looks like these are thought out drawings,” said Tacoma resident Michael Lord as he perused boards with drawings of the competing designs. “Both sides are making compelling arguments.”

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