The Battle for the North K Street Line
Tacoma residents demand that the Tacoma Railway and Power Company fulfill its transit promises.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A number of complaints have come to The Times lately in regard to the alleged failure of the Tacoma Railway & Power Company to live up to the terms of its franchise on the North K street line. It has been stated that the cars run only to North Twelfth and Prospect streets, when they should run to Twelfth and Pine, four blocks farther. Investigation reveals the ordinance was passed February 13, 1903. According to its provisions, the company was given six months' time to extend the line to Prospect street and two years to extend it to Pine street. The two years does not expire until March 1905, but people living in that section claim the service is needed now. X street people have also taken up the matter of better service; at present cars run every 30 minutes, and a 15-minute service is wanted.
“People living in that section claim, however, that the service to Pine street is needed as much now as it ever will be.”
Transit-oriented development remains a critical point of friction in Tacoma. This century-old grievance highlights the perennial struggle between neighborhood growth needs and corporate-controlled utility franchises.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.