The City’s stalled bridge and park land deal
A Tacoma city council debate over land acquisition for a public park highlights the tension between municipal growth and private interests.
There was another hitch last night in the matter of abolishing the Tacoma Avenue bridge above the tennis courts and securing the blue acres of land offered by the Tacoma Land Company for a city park. Chairman Turnbull of the street committee, who has fought the proposition with President Lynn, said he had been asked to hold the matter over for a week. 'Why, it has been held over two weeks already,' said Wilkeson. 'We all know what the proposition is; I think we ought to get this land for the park right away. The company now has a chance to sell it and get some money out of it just as easy as it can give it to the city, and we ought to grab it while we can.' Doud wanted to know about the regrading of adjoining streets contemplated, and in order that this might be investigated, the matter was laid over a week. In the meantime, the engineer will make surveys and see just what can be done with that whole section.
“The company now has a chance to sell it and get some money out of it just as easy as it can give it to the city, and we ought to grab it while we can.”
Tacoma continues to wrestle with the same civic challenge: how to balance the immediate need for public green space against the financial interests of developers and the complex engineering requirements of the city’s hilly geography. The 'blue acres' mentioned reflect the perennial struggle to secure land before it is lost to private development.
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