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TACOMAWEEKLY 24 YE A R S O F SE R V I C E BE C A U S E CO M M U N I T Y MAT T E R S PUYALLUP RIVER
FLOOD DISTRICT BEGINS FORMATION
PHOTO BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER
RIVER. Pierce County’s Flood
Control District is taking shape with the focus of improving levees to protect Interstate 5 from flooding if the Puyallup River crests its banks. By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
PHOTO BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER
REPAIR. 2nd Cycle volunteer Adam Barnes helps a patron fix bike gears at the Martin Luther King Jr. Way shop.
MAY IS NATIONAL
BIKE MONTH Sunny weather, gas prices keep local bicycle nonprofit spinning By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
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heels never seem to stop spinning at 2nd Cycle, an all-volunteer bike shop in
Hilltop. The community bicycle project provides low-cost bicycles, bike parts and free classes about bike repairs and safety as a way to help people opt out of their cars and onto a set of pedals. The 4-yearold nonprofit supports itself through donations and the sale of refurbished bikes and parts. 2nd Cycle formed in mid-2008, when four friends gathered their thoughts to create a community bicycle shop. The effort started simply as a portable bike stand,
Political baggage A5
NORTH END MUSIC: Heidi Vladyka has put together a band, the.north.oakes.project. PAGE C5
“Many people can’t afford a regular bike shop, so what we try to do is to get people to work on their own bikes. We are not a repair shop. They do all the work.”
With the recent Pierce County Council’s passage of the creation of a countywide Flood Control Zone, the rules and policies to fund levee work and waterretention projects around the county are being drafted. The mission of the flood control district is to generate tax dollars that would be used to protect lives, homes and businesses around the county from catastrophic losses caused by flooding, particularly if the Puyallup River overruns its banks and shuts down Interstate 5 the way waters did in Lewis County three years ago. The economic impact of that flooding exceeded $10 million per day. The Flood Control Zone became official in April, but the County Council is now developing ways the district will operate and how the district will determine the tax rate that property owners will pay to fund projects. “The flood hazards in the county are real,” said Brian Ziegler, director of Pierce County Public Works and Utilities. Not only are there direct threats to life and property if the aging levees and current
See FLOODING / page A6
PUBLIC WORKS
GARBAGE SCHEDULE COULD CHANGE
– Travis Martin, 2nd Cycle some discarded parts and a small set of tools that volunteers could use to refurbish old bikes for resale to low-income people who could not otherwise afford new bicycles. The organization is part of a growing trend around America to bring b i c y c l e s back to urban roadways. “There are do-ityourself community bike projects in Seattle, Olympia, Portland and most major and minor cities of America,” the nonprofit’s website states. “These projects have many different forms and faces. They differ from small operations like our own to large projects that send containers full of bikes to developing countries. We are not unique. We are but a pebble in an avalanche of change toward a more sustainable way of living. Tacoma is not what we would call a bike friendly city. The only way that more infrastructure will be provided is if there are a warrant-able amount of riders on the street. We aim to get as many people riding bikes as we can.”
Soccer playoffs B1
Local News ..............A2 City Briefs................A3
The Washington State Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, prepared in 2010 by the Cascade Bicycle Club, found that Tacoma saw a 25 percent increase in bike ridership from 2009 to 2010. But it still has a long way to go since Tacoma is Washington’s thirdlargest city, but 10th in the number of bike riders. Tacoma has been named a Bicycle
See BIKE MONTH / page A4
BIKING EVENTS BIKE MONTH COMMUTER CHALLENGE
The month-long Bike Commuter Challenge is gathering information on people who log at least five trips during May to promote bike ridership as well as to hand out prizes, including a $200 REI gift certificate, bike tune-ups, light sets and team pizza parties. A $100 REI gift certificate will be awarded to the man, woman and college student who logged the most cycling miles in May. See EVENTS/ page A4
PHOTO BY JOHN LARSON
BIG RIG. Tacoma may change
garbage collection to every other week, following the success of a pilot program. By John Larson jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
By early next year all of Tacoma could be having garbage collected every other week, as opposed to weekly as is done now. City staff estimates making this switch could save the city between $900,000 and $1.3 million per year. Tacoma City Council heard a presentation on the topic during its May 8 study session. Mike Slevin, an assistant director in the Public Works Department, discussed an ambitious goal of the city – to have 70 percent of trash diverted to recycling by 2030. Currently about 30
Crusaders win league B3
Sports ......................B1 A&E .........................C1
See GARBAGE / page A8
New menu C2
Make A Scene ........C5 Calendar .................C6
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Four Sections | 24 Pages